LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


i-fec** 


RECEIVED    BY    EXCHANGE 

Class 


,>>fe^     xl      ,_«        /x 


*_<££"*&• 


«lk|V*   SS»     _   iCS  >        <  ^»   A\  *- 


F^€»« 


-^:^±wJ^y^^^^^4,WJ^ 
•  JfyJ-Sfirf  J'^^^nf  <*is  **>^3E2r  J"^  ^ 

i.  ^^P •".-&•. a  5ft.  ^C^?>  y^'/i  «SCL  ^^^y^-J«',o5ft  ^ 


|0^3  ^-^w  J^?^'r 
^%WW£'§ 


s    ~ 


^feYSWR 


HISTORY 


....OF.... 


DURELL'S  BATTERY 


....IN  THE... 


CIVIL    WAR 

(INDEPENDENT    BATTERY    D,    PENNSYLVANIA 
VOLUNTEER    ARTILLERY.) 


A  Narrative  of  the  Campaigns  and  Battles  of  Berks 
and  Bucks  Counties'  Artillerists  in  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion,  from  the  Battery's  Organization. 
September  24,  1861,  to  its  Muster  Out  of 
Service,  June  13,  1865. 


.7 
•IX- 


TO    THE    MEMORY 


OF    THE 


OFFICERS    AND    MEN 

OF 

DURELL'S    INDEPENDENT    BATTERY    D, 

PENNSYLVANIA  VOLUNTEER   ARTILLERY. 

Whose    devotion  to  their    Country  in  the  time   of    her  peril  is    their 
enduring  honor,  this  book  is  offered  as  a  sincere  tribute. 


1 88231 


Approval  of  Durell's  Battery  Association. 


HEADQUARTERS  DURELL'S  BATTERY  ASSOCIATION, 
READING,    PA.,   OCTOBER  31,    1903. 

At  the  Annual  Reunion  of  Durell's  Battery  Association,  held 
at  Reading,  J'a. ,  on  September  26,  1903,  it  was  unanimously 
resolved  that  the  material  collected  by  the  Historical  Committee 
of  the  Battery  Association  be  approved,  and  that  Lieut.  Charles 
A.  Cuffel,  the  battery  historian,  be  authorized  to  publish  the  same 
in  book  form. 

HORACK   I).    BOONE,    Secretary. 


PREFACE. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  DurelFs  Battery  Association, 
which  was  effected  in  1880,  a  committee  was  appointed  for  the 
collection  of  historical  matter,  with  the  object  of  preserving  the 
services  of  the  battery  from  oblivion.  The  committee  has  had  a 
long  and  difficult  task  to  perform  ;  but  the  work  has  nevertheless, 
been  a  pleasant  one,  recalling  those  stirring  days  of  the  past  in 
which  the  command  played  its  part  in  the  great  War  of  the 
Rebellion. 

Little  note  of  the  services  of  Durell's  Battery  has  been  taken 
by  the  historians  of  the  Civil  War.  Nothing  more  has  been 
attempted  here  than  a  faithful  account  of  its  experience  in  the 
marches,  campaigns  and  battles  through  which  it  passed,  and  in 
which  it  rendered  such  loyal  and  effective  service.  Generous  aid 
has  been  rendered  by  surviving  comrades,  who  have  kindly  assist 
ed  in  supplying  incidents  and  dates  from  journals  kept  at  that  time. 

The  historian  is  conscious  of  imperfections  in  the  text,  but  he 
has  endeavored  to  be  accurate.  The  committee  was  fortunate  in 
securing  the  excellent  illustrations  drawn  by  Mr.  William  T.  Trego, 
the  well-known  painter  of  military  subjects,  and  portraits  and  re 
productions  of  war-time  photographs  through  the  courtesy  of  the 

War  Department. 

CHARLES  A.    CUFFEL, 

Battery  Historian. 
Doylestown,  Pa.,  October  31,  1903. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORGAN  I/ATION.  I-AGK. 

The  First  Camp — Recruits  from  Reading — Roster  of  Company — 
Lesson  on  Discipline — Picnic  Marches — Off  to  the  Front — Fare 
well  of  the  Citizens— The  March  Through  Philadelphia  — Recep 
tion  at  Baltimore— Camp  at  Washington — Detached  from  the 
I04th  Regiment— Assigned  to  Artillery  Camp 17 

CHAPTER  11. 
AT  THK  FROM. 

Advance  into  Virginia  —  P>ailey's  Cross  Roads  —  Attached  to 
McDowell's  Division — Christmas  Dinner--Ruin  of  the  Country 
— Construct  Quarters  — Drills  and  Inspections — Funeral  of  Gen. 
Lander— Gifts  from  Reading's  Aid  Society 25 


CHAPTER  III. 

ADVANCE  UPON   MANASSKS. 

Leave  Camp  Du  Pont — Fairfax  Court  House — Camp  on  Confederate 
Ground — The  Enemy  Abandons  Manasses — March  in  a  Storm — 
Return  to  Camp  Du  Pont — Await  Orders  to  Ship  for  the  Peninsula 
— Grand  Review 30 


CHAPTER  IV. 
CAI'TTRE  oi-  FREDERICKSKURG. 

Attached  to  the  Iron  Brigade — March  to  Bristoe  Station — Snow 
Bound — Small-pox  in  Camp — Foraging  for  Subsistance — Lost  on 
the  March — Engagement  at  Falmouth — The  Enemy  Flees  from 
Fredericksburg — Reviewed  by  the  President 34 

CHAPTER  V. 

PURSUING  "  STONEWAI.I.  "  JACKSON. 

A  Hasty  March  to  Thoroughfare  Gap — Looking  for  Guerillas  — Return 
March  Via  Haymarket  and  Warrenton — First  Ration  of  Whisky 
and  Quinine  — Lieut.  Leoser — Return  to  Fredericksburg — The 
New  Vork  Recruits  42 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CAMP  LIFE  AT  FREDERICKSBURG.  PAGE. 

Celebrating  July  Fourth  —  Red  Tape  —  Death  of  Bluch  —  In  a  Southern 
Church  —  Swapping  Horses  —  Health  of  the  Battery  —  The  Team 
sters  —  The  Refugees  —  Foraging  —  Reconnoitering  .......  47 

CHAPTER  VII. 

POPE'S  RETREAT  —  KELLY'S  FORD  AND  BRISTOK. 

Joined  to  the  Ninth  Corps  —  March  to  Culpepper  —  Pope's  Army  — 
Cedar  Mountain  —  Retreat  by  Night  —  Battle  of  Kelly's  Ford  — 
Support  Buford's  Cavalry  —  A  Lively  Fight  —  A  Narrow  Escape  — 
A  Successful  Reconnoisance  —  General  Reno  —  March  Up  the 
Rappahannock—  A  Detail  for  the  Cavalry-  Shelled  Out  of  Camp 
—  Fight  for  a  Bridge—  Defend  a  River  Ford  —  Struck  by  Light 
ning  —  Fayetteville  —  Scarcity  of  Rations—  Warrenton  Junction  — 
Arrival  of  McClellan's  Troops  —  Move  with  Hooker  —  Enemy  Cuts 
the  Railroad—  Battle  of  Bristoe—  The  Enemy  Repulsed—  A  Beef 
steak  Supper  ...............  ......  52 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
BULL  RUN  AND  CHANTILLY. 

Destruction  of  Manassas  —  Bury  a  Dead  Confederate  —  On  the  Bull 
(Run  Field  —  A  Charge  and  Repulse—  Night  on  the  Battlefield—  A 
Federal  Defeat—  Rescue  of  the  Gun—  The  Retreat—  Make  a 
Stand  at  Centreville  —  An  Unexpected  Meeting  —  Battle  of  Chan- 
tilly  —  Death  of  Kearney  and  Stevens—  Fighting  in  a  Thunder 
Storm  —  Retire  to  Washington  .............  63 

CHAPTER  IX. 

MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN—  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN. 

Refit  at  Washington—  March  into  Maryland  —  Battle  of  South  Moun 
tain—Midnight  on  the  Picket  Line  —  Incidents  of  the  Fight  _ 


Horrors  of  the  Battlefield 


CHAPTER  X. 
MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN—  ANTIETAM. 

Opening  of  the  Battle—  Shelled  Out  of  Camp—  Artillery  Duel- 
Explode  an  Enemy's  Caisson  —  Storming  the  Bridge  —  Reconnoitre 
the  Enemy—  Hard  Fighting—  Charge  of  Hawkins'  Zouaves- 
Casualties—  Ammunition  Exhausted—  Enemy  Retires  Across  the 
Potomac  ........................  -7 

CHAPTER  XL 
CAMPING  IN  MARYLAND. 

On  the  Potomac—  An  Historic  Spot  —  Reviewed  by  Lincoln—  Pleasant 
Valley  —  A  Choice  Mess  —  Apple  Dumplings  and  Paw  Paws  — 
General  Ferrero—  Passes  and  Furloughs  —  Patrols  and  Stragglers  85 


CHAFFER  XII. 

PURSUING  THE  ENEMY.  I-AGK. 

Death  in  Camp — Cross  to  Virginia  — Marine  Fever — Stages  of  the 
March— A  Snow  Storm — On  Picket  Duty — Amissville — Pleasan- 
ton's  Cavalry — The  Enemy  in  Sight  — Short  Rations 90 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

DUEL  AT  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS. 

Assault  upon  the  Baggage  Wagons — A  Hot  Artillery  Fight — Death  of 
Lieutenant  Mcllvain — The  Enemy  Repulsed — Camp  at  Fayette- 
ville — A  Race  with  the  Enemy  .  .  95 

CHAFFER  XIV. 
BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURI;. 

In  Position  Opposite  the  City — Rough  Weather— Friendly  Pickets — 
Movements  of  the  Enemy — Lieutenant  Leoser— Build  Winter 
Quarters  —Battle  of  Fredericksburg — Posted  on  Falmouth 
Heights— A  Cold  Night — Terrible  Bombardment — A  Forlorn 
Hope  — A  Bloody  Battle — The  Army  Withdrawn — Finish  Winter 
Quarters— Mess  Changes— Build  Stables— New  Vear's  Day,  1863 
— Spoilation  of  the  Lacey  Property — The  Mud  Campaign  — Spirit 
of  the  Army  —  Burnside  Relieved  loo 

CHAPTER  XV. 

FROM  FREDERICKSBURG  TO  FORTRESS  MONROE. 
A  March  in  Mid- Winter — Floundering  in  the  Mud — Shipped  on  Canal 
Boats — An  Oyster  Feast — Voyage  Down  the  Bay — Camp  in  the 
Ruins  of  Hampton — March    to    Newport    News —First  Sight  of 
Gunboats 114 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  KENTUCKY  CAMPAIGN. 

Embark  for  Baltimore — By  Rail  to  Kentucky —Reception  at  Pittsburg 
— Lose  a  Caisson — Cincinnati's  Hospitality — Arrive  at  Paris — 
March  to  Mount  Sterling — Peculiarities  of  the  Country — The 
Guerillas — The  Town  of  Boone — The  Lost  Caisson  Found — Paint 
Lick— Dick  River — A  Settlement  of  Differences 123 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
FROM  KENTUCKY  TO  VICKSBURG. 

The  Blue  Grass  Region — From  Lexington  to  Louisville  by  Rail  — 
Embark  for  Vicksburg — Scenes  on  the  Ohio  — Down  the  Missis 
sippi — Features  of  Memphis -On  the  Alert  for  Guerillas — Meet 
Western  Troops — Ruins  Along  the  Shores — First  View  of  Vicks 
burg —  March  to  Carthage  —  Return  to  Sherman's  Landing — Up 
the  Vazoo — Land  at  Snyder's  Bluff 132 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  PAGE. 

Intrench  to  Meet  Johnston— Out-post  Duty— Fight  Mosquitoes  and 
Fleas — Surrender  of  Vicksburg —March  Against  Johnston — Lose 
Caisson  and  Horses  -  Scarcity  of  Water— Incidents  of  the  March 
— Shell  Mississippi's  Capital— Eastern  and  Western  Pluck — The 
Insane  Asylum —Evacuation  of  Jackson— Sacking  the  City— A 
Hard  March—  Return  to  Mill  Dale—  Await  Transportation  .  .  .  138 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

RETURN  TO  KENTUCKY. 

Much  Sickness — Leave  Vicksburg — The  Hospitals  — Disembark  at 
Cairo — The  Hospital  Boat — Burial  of  the  Dead — Treatment  of 
the  Sick — A  Boat  Collision — Camp  at  Covington — Unable  to 
Follow  the  Corps — The  Ohio  Election  155 


CHAPTER  XX. 
A  TRIP  TO  LAKE  ERIE. 

An  Urgent  Call — Plot  to  Release  Confederate  Prisoners — The  Journey 
Through  Ohio — Johnson's  Island — Awaiting  the  Conspirators — 
Drill  Green  Troops  —The  Prisoners — Return  to  Covington  .  .  161 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
COVINGTON  BARRACKS. 

Winter  Quarters — Hospital  Life— A  Guidon  from  the  Ladies  of 
Bucks — The  Second  Best  Battery— First  Re-enlistments — Turn  In 
the  Horses  — Christmas  Day — Bounty  Jumpers 164 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

VETERANIZING. 

Cold  Beginning  of  1864 — A  Female  Soldier  — Deserter  Reprieved — Re- 
enlist  for  Three  Years  More  -  Return  of  Ninth  Corps  Troops  from 
Tennessee — Home  on  Veteran  Furlough — The  Battery  Moves  to 
Annapolis 1 68 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

RECRUITED,  REFITTED   AND  REORGANIZED. 

Veterans  Return  from  Furlough  — Drilling  Recruits — General  Grant 
Inspects  the  Ninth  Corps — Move  to  Washington — Receive  a  New 
Outfit — Cross  to  Virginia — March  to  Warrenton  Junction  .  .  .  175 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FROM  THK  RAPIDAN  TO  THE  JAMKS.  PAGE. 
Assigned  to  the  Colored  Division— Guard  the  Supply  Trains — Chancel- 
lorsville  Battlefield — Flank  Movements  by  Night — Battles  of  The 
Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  and  Cold  Harbor — Cross  the  Chicka- 
hominy  and  James  Rivers — Shelled  out  of  Camp — Arrive  at  Peters 
burg  180 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

ASSAULT  THE  PETERSBURG  LINES. 

In  the  Trenches — Harassed  by  Sharpshooters — Engage  the  Enemies' 
Batteries— The  Awful  Morter  Shells— The  Batteries'  Wounded — 
Move  to  the  Left — Fort  Durell— Return  to  the  Front  Line— Oc 
cupy  Fort  Morton .  .  188 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

THE   BURNSIDE  MINE. 

Lying  in  Concealment — Spring  the  Mine — A  Terrific  Bombardment  — 
Delay  of  the  Assault— Charge  and  Repulse  of  the  Colored  Troops 
— The  Crater  a  Slaughter- Pen — The  Enemy  Capture  the  Crater — 
A  Truce — Investigation  of  the  Affair — Recover  the  Dead  and 
Wounded  .  195 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG. 

Taylor  Battery— Under  Constant  Fire — A  Confederate  Mine — Strength 
ening  the  Lines — Suffering  in  the  Trenches — Testing  a  Bomb- 
Proof— A  Destructive  Rain — Terrific  Bombardment  by  the  Enemy 
— A  Terrible  Crash  of  Shot  and  Shell— Relieved  from  the 
Trenches  .  


CHAFFER  XXVIII. 

WELDOX  RAILROAD  AND  REAM'S  STATION. 

Support  Warren  at  the  Weldon  Railroad  — Return  to  a  Former  Camp — 
Hurried  to  the  Support  of  Hancock— Battle  of  Ream's  Station — 
Garrison  Forts  on  the  Rear  Line — Building  Fortifications — The 
Military  Railroad — Shotted  Salutes  for  the  Enemy 206 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MUSTER  OUT  OF  THREE  YEARS'  MEN. 

Starting  for  Home — Sad  Leave-Taking  of  Captain  Durell — Roll  of 
those  Mustered  Out — Lieutenant  Rhoads  Takes  Command — Pro 
motions  in  Reorganizing ... 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

PEEBLES'  FARM  AND  POPLAR  GROVE  CHURCH.  PAGE. 

Battle  of  Peebles'  Farm — A  Sharp  Fight  and  a  Union  Victory  -  Advance 
to  Poplar  Grove  Church— The  Enemy  Assaults  and  is  Repulsed— 
Rhoads  Receives  a  Captain's  Commission — Other  Promotions  .  .  215 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 
HATCHER'S  RUN. 

Forts  Gregg  and  Welsh— Peace  and  Trade  Relations  on  the  Picket  Line 
Ninth  Corps  Moves  on  Hatcher's  Run  — Repulse  of  the  Enemy- 
Return  to  the  Intrenchments — Movements  of  the  Caissons— The 
Presidential  Election— Build  Winter  Quarters— Thanksgiving  Day 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 
SUPPORTING  THE  CAVALRY. 
On  the  Rear  Line  of  Intrenchments— The  Battery  Mans  Three  Forts 

Build  Winter  Quarters— Raid  on  the  Enemy's  Communications 

— Shooting  Deserters 224 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
AGAIN  AT  THE  FRONT. 

Posted  in  Forts  Meikle,  Rice  and  Sedgwick — Again  Build  Winter 
Quarters — Close  Proximity  of  the  Lines — Fraternity  on  the  Picket 
Line— Enemy  Shell  Fort  Meikle— The  Whitworths  and  the 
"  Seven  Sisters  " — Confederates  Desert— Caisson  Park  Shelled — 
Stormy  Close  of  the  Year 227 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
THE  SIEGE  IN  WINTER. 

New  Year,  1865— Granting  Furloughs— A  Flag  of  Truce — Pickets 
Swamped  Out  of  the  Pits — Increase  of  Enemy's  Deserters— Con 
federate  Peace  Commission — Prepare  for  the  Spring  Campaign  — 
Celebration  of  Washington's  Birthday— Shotted  Salutes  for  the 
Enemy— Forts  Meikle  and  Morton  Bombarded— Enemy  Capture 
a  Herd  of  Beef 231 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 
BATTLE  OF  FORT  STEADMAN. 

The  Enemy  Capture  Fort  Steadman — Charge  of  Hartranft's  Pennsyl- 
vanians — Large  Capture  of  the  Enemy — Storming  the  Confederate 
Picket  Line— Sheridan's  Cavalry  Arrives 238 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
CAPTURE  OF  PETERSBURG. 

The  Final  Bombardment— The  Enemy  Replies  Vigorously — The 
Infantry  Assault — Willcox  Breaks  the  Line — Potter  and  Hartranft 
Equally  Successful — Capture  of  Fort  Mahone — Fierce  Fighting 
to  Hold  the  Points  —Frantic  Efforts  of  the  Enemy — Sailor's  Men 
Serve  Captured  Guns — The  Battery  Actively  Engaged — Victory  in 
Sight — Evacuation  of  Petersburg 241 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
PURSUIT  AND  SURRENDER  OF  LEE. 

Ninth  Corps  Enters  Petersburg — The  Battery  Reduced  to  Four  Guns 
— March  Along  the  South  Side  Railroad — Lee's  Surrender — 
Assassination  of  Lincoln 247 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
RETURN  TO  WASHINGTON. 

March  to  City  Point — Petersburg  After  the  Evacuation — Embark  for 
Alexandria — The  Voyage  Down  the  James  and  Up  the  Bay — 
Encamp  at  Fairfax  Seminary — The  Men  Impatient  to  Go  Home  250 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
THE  GRAND  REVIEW  AND  MUSTER-OUT. 

Camps  of  the  Great  Army — The  Two-Days'  Review — The  Army  of 
the  Potomac — Sherman's  Army — Muster-Out  Orders — Parting 
With  the  Horses  and  Guns — The  Journey  to  Philadelphia — 
Spring  Mill  Barracks — The  Muster-Out 253 

Itinerary  of  the   Battery 257 

Roster  of  the  Battery 258 


DURELL'S    BATTERY. 

BATTLES    AND    ENGAGEMENTS. 

Capture  of  Frederick sburg,  Va., April  i8th,  1862 

Kelly's    Ford,  Va., August  2ist,    1862 

Bristoe  Station,  Va., August 27th,  1862 

Bull  Run,  Va., .    .  August  29th  and  3oth,  1862 

Chantilly,  Va., September    1st,  1862 

South  Mountain,  Md.. September  J4th,  1862 

Antietam,  Md., September   lyth,  1862 

White  Sulphur  Springs,  Va., November  I5th,  1862 

Fredericksburg,  Va., December  I2th  to    i6th,  1862 

Vicksburg,  Miss,, June    iyth  to  July  4th,  1863 

Jackson,  Miss., July   loth  to   lyth,  1863 

The  Wilderness,  Va., May  5th  and  6th,  1864 

Todd's  Tavern,  Va., May  8th,  1864 

Po  River,  Va May    loth,  1864 

Spottsylvania,  Va., May    I2th,    1864 

North  Anna  River,  Va., May  23rd,  1864 

Pamunkey  River,  Va., May    28th,  1864 

Cold  Harbor,  Va., June  3rd,  1864 

Assaults  on  Petersburg,  Va., June   l6th  to    i8th,  1864 

Siege  of  Petersburg,  Va.,       June  igth,  1864  to  April  2nd,  1865 

The  Burnside  Mine,  Va.,       July  3Oth,   1864 

Weldon  Railroad,  Va., August    I9th,   1864 

Ream's  Station,  Va., .  August  25th,   1864 

Peebles'  Farm,  Va., September    3Oth,  1864 

Poplar  Grove  Church,  Va. October  1st,  1864 

Hatcher's  Run,  Va., October  27th,  1864 

Fort   Steadman,   Va., March    25th,  1865 

Final  Assault  on  Petersburg,  Va., April  2nd,  1865 

Appomattox,  Va., April  9th,  1865 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

BATTERY  IN  ACTION, 5 

CAPTAIN  GEORGE    W.  DURELL, 23 

LIEUTENANT  LEMUEL   CRIES, 27 

LIEUTENANT  GEORGE  W.  SILVIS, 33 

LIEUTENANT  HOWARD  MC!LVAIN, 37 

LIEUTENANT  CHRISTOPHER   LEOSER, 37 

ABRAHAM    LINCOLN, 41 

BATTERY  ON  DRILL, 49 

MclLVAiN  GOING  TO  THE  SUPPORT  OF  BUFORD'S  CAVALRY,  ...  55 

POPE'S  RETREAT — DESTROYING  THE  RAILROAD, 61 

RESCUE  OF   THE  GUN, 65 

MAJOR-GENERAL  JESSE  L.  RENO, 75 

MAP  OF  ANTIETAM  BATTLEFIELD, 77 

INFANTRY  GIVING  A  HELPING  HAND,      79 

AWAITING  ORDERS  TO  CROSS  THE  BURNSIDE  BRIDGE, 81 

SUPPORTING  THE  CHARGE  OF  HAWKINS'  ZOUAVES, 83 

GENERAL  EDWARD  FERRERO, 87 

MAJOR-GENERAL  A.  E.  BURNSIDE, 93 

BATTLE  OF  FREDERICKSBURG, 105 

ON  PICKET  IN  WINTER,       109 

THE  MUD  MARCH, 113 

MAJOR-GENERAL  JOSEPH  HOOKER, 117 

PRIVATE  HORACE  D.  BOONE — OF  THE  LINEAGE  OF  THE  KENTUCKY 

PIONEER, 127 

GENERAL  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT, 141 

THE  FIRST  GUIDON, •   •   •  165 

THE  WILDERNESS, 181 

IN  THE  WILDERNESS — THIRTY  YEARS'   AFTER, 183 

SPOTTSYLVANIA— ONE  YEAR  AFTER  THE  BATTLE, 185 

MAP  OF  PETERSBURG, 193 

POPLAR  GROVE  CHURCH, 217 

OFFICERS   OF    RHOADS'  BATTERY, 219 

WINTER  QUARTERS  NEAR   PETERSBURG  LINES, 223 

THE  "SEVEN  SISTERS," 229 

FORT    SEDGWICK, 235 

MAJOR-GENERAL  JOHN   F.  HARTRANFT, 239 

SCENE  OF  THE  ASSAULT  ON  PETERSBURG  LINES,  .    .    .    .   • 243 

OBSTRUCTIONS  IN  FRONT  OF  FORT  MAHONE, 245 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  BATTERY. 

THE  war  for  the  Union  was  fairly  under  way  ;  the  first  battle 
of  Bull  Run  had  been  fought  and  lost  to  the  National  cause, 
and  the  three-months  troops  had  returned  to  their  homes, 
when  enlistments  were  begun  for  Durell's  Ringgold  Battery  by 
Captain  George  W.  Durell,  of  Reading,  Pa.  Its  organization  was 
started  in  connection  with  that  of  the  io4th  Pennsylvania  Volunteer 
Infantry,  under  command  of  Colonel  W.  W.  H.  Davis,  of  Doyles- 
town,  Pa.,  who  had  received  authority  from  the  War  Department 
to  recruit  a  regiment  of  infantry  and  a  battery  of  artillery  under 
President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  300,000  volunteers  for  three  years' 
service. 

Captain  Durell,  fresh  from  his  service  as  orderly  sergeant  of 
the  Ringgold  Artillery  of  Reading,  which  was  among  the  First  De 
fenders  to  arrive. in  Washington  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  was 
well  qualified  to  organize  and  command  a  battery.  He  arrived  at 
Camp  Lacey,  located  on  the  Doylestown  fair  grounds,  where  Colonel 
Davis  had  already  gathered  half  a  dozen  companies  of  infantry,  on 
September  131x1,  1861,  accompanied  by  thirty  or  forty  recruits, 
principally  from  Berks  County.  This  squad  was  in  a  few  weeks 
increased  by  the  enlistment  of  a  number  of  men  from  Bucks,  Mont 
gomery,  Chester,  Philadelphia,  and  other  points  to  almost  the 
maximum  number  required  to  man  a  six-gun  battery  of  light  artil 
lery.  Three  lieutenants  were  appointed  and  commissioned- 
Lemuel  Gries,  Howard  Mcllvain  and  George  W.  Silvis,  all  of 
Reading.  A  few  weeks  before  the  departure  from  Camp  Lacey 
the  appointments  of  the  non-commissioned  officers  were  made, 
after  which  the  company  was  marched  to  Doylestown  and  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service  by  Colonel  Davis,  in  front  of  his 
printing  office,  for  the  term  of  three  years  or  during  the  war,  to 
date  from  September  24,  1861,  when  the  company  roster  was  as 
follows  : 

17 


i8 


DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CAPTAIN. — George  W.  Durell,  Reading. 

FIRST  LIEUTENANT. — Lemuel  Gries,  Reading. 

FIRST  LIEUTENANT. — Howard  Mcllvain,  Reading. 

SECOND  LIEUTENANT. — George  W.  Silvis,  Reading. 

ORDERLY  SERGEANT. — William  P.  Andrews,  Doylestown. 

QUARTERMASTER  SERGEANT. — Azariah  L.  Ratz,  Berks. 


DUTY  SERGEANTS. 


Harrison  G.  Bouse,  Reading. 
James  Q.  Irwin,  Waynesburg. 
Henry  Sailor,  Reading. 


George  A.  Everhart,  Doylestown. 
Samuel  K.  Whitner,  Reading. 
Samuel  H.  Rhoads,  Amity. 


CORPORALS. 


B.  Frank  Bender,  Waynesburg. 
William  Dunlap,  Reading. 
Robert  Conard,  Buckingham. 
John  O.  Burden,  Pottstown. 
Mahlon  B.  Buckman,  Newtown. 
I.  Carey  Carver,  Buckingham. 


Benjamin  Albright,  Hilltown. 
Daniel  I).  Althouse,  Berks. 
William  D.  Althouse,      " 
Amos  Antrim, 
George  Barton,  Bucks. 
Jacob  Bauer,  Waynesburg. 
Jacob  L.  Beam,          " 
Stephen  B.  Bechert,  Berks. 
Amos  Bechtel,  Reading. 
Charles  C.  Berg,      " 
Valentine  Bissey,  Buckingham. 
James  Bissey,  " 

George  Bluch,  Berks. 
Valentine  Bloomer,  Bucks. 
Thomas  L.  Breese,       " 
Henry  L.  Buck,  Berks. 
Samuel  O.  Burden,  Reading. 
Mark  M.  Caffrey,  Bucks. 
G.  Ross  Carver,  Buckingham. 
Wellington  F.  Clouser,  Reading. 
William  Clouser,  Reading. 
Henry  C.  Clymer,  Bucks. 
Elias  K.  Cooper,          " 
Nicholas  Cramer,  Reading. 


James  L.  Mast,  Reading. 
Oliver  D.  Giffins,  Lehigh. 
Abraham  D.  Blundin,  Hulmeville. 
William  G.  Mack,  Berks. 
William  J.  Wealthy,  Philadelphia. 
Frederick  W.  Berg,  Reading. 


PRIVATES. 


Robert  W.  Creighton,  Philadelphia. 
Charles  A.  Cuffel,  Doylestown. 
Joseph  M.  Cuffel, 
John  Coney,  Newtown. 
William  K.  Cleaver,  Berks. 
Cyrus  Davidheiser,          " 
George  Douglass,  Hulmeville. 
Joseph  Derflinger,  Bucks. 
Uriah  H.  Engle,  Berks. 
John  L.  Everett,  Kutztown. 
Christian  Eyler,  Reading. 
Charles  A.  Fageley,  Bucks. 
Gotlieb  Fageley,  " 

Jacob  S.  Foster,  ;" 

Jesse  D.  Foulke,  Quakertown. 
William  H.  P>ankin,  Philadelphia. 
Jacob  C.  Franks,  Bucks. 
Michael  Fry,  Adams. 
Richard  S.  Garber,  Berks. 
Isaac  R.  Good,  " 

Henry  Graul,  Reading. 
Hiram  Grove,  Berks. 
George  W.  Hagerman,  Bucks. 
Henry  Hargrave,  Doylestown. 


ORGANIZATION. 


PRIVATES — Continued. 


Reuben  G.  Herbine,  Reading. 

George  Hart,  " 

Henry  B.  Hearing,  Hilltown. 

Mahlon  Y.  Hill,  Reading. 

William  E.  Hill, 

John  Hinnershotz,       " 

loseph  L.  Hughes,  Waynesburg. 

Monroe  Jenkins,  Hilltown. 

Charles  Jones,  Doylestown. 

Samuel  Johnston,  Reading. 

Amos  Knabb,  " 

George  L.  Knopp,       " 

Isaac  S.  Knowles,  Bucks. 

Adley  B.  Lawrence,  Waynesburg. 

Oliver  C.  Leidy,  Montgomery. 

Joseph  Lear,  Solebury. 

John  L.  Lewis,  Montgomery. 

S.  Richard  Lewis,  Reading. 

George  ¥.  Ludwig,  Berks. 

Henry  Leidig,  Reading. 

Henry  Lenhart,  Bucks. 

Charles  H.  MacCorkle,  Hulmeville. 

Ezra  McKinstry,  Plumstead. 

William  S.  McNair,  Doylestown. 

Stewart  McAlees,  Bucks. 

Aaron  Martin,  Reading. 

Frederick  K.  Miller,  Reading. 

Henry  Miller,  " 

John  W.  Morris,  " 

George  W.  Moyer,  Reading. 


Daniel  W.  Noll,  Reading. 

Joseph  Ney,  Waynesburg. 

J.  Beatty  Price,  Buckingham. 

William  H.  Quaintance,  Waynesburg. 

Henry  Y.  Rauh,  Germany. 

James  S.  Rich,  Buckingham. 

John  M.  Rich, 

Charles  Reigling,  Lehigh. 

John  Rightmyer,  Berks. 

Harrison  K.  Rhoads,  Berks. 

John  R.  Rice,  Doylestown. 

Albert  H.  Reider,  Reading. 

John  C.  Sherwood,  Bucks, 

Isaac  C.  Sterner,  Berks. 

Patrick  Scanlon,  Doylestown. 

Andrew  J.  Schweimler,  Reading. 

Henry  M.  Seagrist,  Bucks. 

Jacob  H.  Schaffer,  Reading. 

Henry  Schlichter,        " 

Henry  C.  Stahler,  Lehigh. 

John  C.  Schmidt, 

Isaiah  J.  Sellers,  Hilltown. 

Martin  H.  Smith,  Doylestown. 

John  L.  Smith,  Hulmeville. 

John  H.  Thompson,  Bucks. 

Levi  Thomas,  Hilltown. 

Edward  H.  White,  Solebury. 

Emanuel  Wolf,  Doylestown. 

Charles  P.  Weissig,      " 

Bertolet  Y.  Yoder,  Berks. 


The  company  was  daily  trained  at  foot  drill,  and  soon  attained 
such  proficiency  that  its  manoeuvres  attracted  the  admiration  of  the 
spectators  at  the  evening  dress  parades  of  the  regiment.  Among 
the  noteworthy  incidents  which  occurred  while  in  this  camp  was  the 
shooting  of  an  infantryman  by  I.  Carey  Carver.  The  latter  was  on 
guard  duty  at  one  end  of  the  camp  near  the  fair  ground  on  a  very  dark 
and  cloudy  night,  when  some  person  attempted  to  cross  his  beat 
and  scale  the  fence.  The  sentinel  called  upon  the  intruder  to  halt, 
and,  the  challenge  being  unheeded,  fired  with  a  pistol,  the  ball 
taking  effect  in  the  calf  of  the  latter' s  leg.  The  report  of  the  pistol 
created  a  great  commotion,  both  in  the  infantry  and  artillery 
camps,  which  were  separated  by  about  five  hundred  yards  distance. 
The  identity  of  the  disobedient  soldier  was  soon  ascertained.  His 
intention  was  to  climb  the  fence  and  take  "  French  leave  "  for 


20  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

town  or  for  his  home.  The  bullet,  passing  only  through  flesh,  the 
wound  did  not  prove  serious,  so  that  the  wounded  man  soon  re 
covered,  and  Carey  Carver  received  a  corporal's  chevrons  for  first 
blood  drawn  by  the  battery. 

While  at  Camp  Lacey  the  regiment  and  battery  made  two  short 
marches  out  into  the  country — the  first  to  attend  a  Union  mass 
meeting  held  in  a  grove  near  Danborough,  five  miles  from  camp, 
on  the  5th  of  October.  The  next  morning,  Sunday,  after  Divine 
service,  the  entire  command  was  marched  to  Neshaminy  creek,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Castle  Valley  bridge,  where  the  men 
stripped  for  a  bath  and  disported  themselves  in  that  quiet  and 
peaceful  stream  much  to  the  amusement  of  the  spectators. 

The  second  march  was  made  on  the  iyth  of  October,  to 
Hartsville,  to  attend  a  Union  festival,  held  partly  in  honor  of  the 
regiment,  where  the  citizens  gave  the  soldiers  a  warm  reception, 
the  ladies  setting  out  a  bountiful  collation.  His  excellency,  Gover 
nor  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  accompanied  by  his  staff,  visited  Camp 
Lacey  on  October  2ist,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  the  State 
colors  to  the  regiment.  The  occasion  drew  a  very  large  number 
of  people  from  the  surrounding  country. 

The  next  important  event  was  the  order  to  "pack  up"  and 
move  to  Washington.  The  orders  for  the  journey  were  read  at  dress 
parade  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  November  5th.  Reveille  was 
sounded  about  4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  long  before  daylight 
everything  was  in  readiness  for  the  march.  Though  the  orders 
were  announced  but  the  evening  before,  there  were  several  hun 
dred  civilians,  upon  the  camp-ground  to  see  the  boys  off.  The 
skies  were  dark  and  threatened  rain,  and  many  faces  both  of  soldiers 
and  civilians,  bore  a  sad  appearance,  as  if  in  sympathy  with  the 
weather.  Some  time  after  daylight  the  men  fell  into  ranks  and 
marched  up  State  street  to  Main  and  down  Main  to  the  Doyles- 
town  depot,  where  they  boarded  the  cars  in  waiting  for  them.  By 
this  time  nearly  every  citizen  of  the  town,  and  many  from  the  sur 
rounding  country,  had  gathered  at  the  station  to  see  the  soldiers 
off  to  the  front.  The  last  farewell  was  given — alas,  it  was  the  last 
one  forever  to  many  of  them — and  the  train  moved  away  from  the 
depot  amid  the  shouts  and  tears  and  waving  handkerchiefs  and  hats 
of  civilians  and  soldiers. 

The  troops  were  greeted  at  every  station  along  the  road  by 
large  crowds  of  people  who  had  received  word  that  the  regiment 
was  to  pass  through  on  its  way  to  Washington.  No  stops  were 


ORGANIZATION.  21 

made  at  the  way  stations,  so  that  the  people  at  those  points  had  to 
content  themselves  with  waving  a  last  adieu  as  the  train  rushed  by. 

Arrived  at  Philadelphia  the  regiment  disembarked  at  Master 
street  and  marched  down  Fourth  to  the  Volunteer  Refreshment 
Saloon,  which  was  located  in  the  vicinity  of  the  old  navy  yard.  A 
drizzling  rain  had  set  in  and  the  air  was  very  sultry.  Overcoats 
were  ordered  to  be  worn  on  leaving  the  cars,  which,  with  the  heavy 
knapsacks  carried  by  the  green  soldiers,  fatigued  many  of  the  men 
so  that  they  had  no  appetite  to  eat  the  excellent  dinner  spread 
before  them,  for  which  the  refreshment  saloon  became  so  famous 
among  the  troops  who  were  fed  there  on  their  way  to  the  front. 

After  a  rest  of  about  an  hour,  the  march  was  again  resumed 
(now  without  overcoats),  to  the  Baltimore  depot  via  Washington 
avenue.  The  entire  march  through  the  city  was  an  ovation,  the 
whole  population  along  the  route  apparently  turned  out  to  cheer 
the  troops  and  wish  them  God-speed.  Women,  men,  boys  and 
girls,  came  loaded  with  eatables  and  gave  to  the  soldiers.  Cars 
were  boarded  near  the  Baltimore  depot,  the  train  leaving  at  about 
4.30  in  the  evening. 

The  night  ride  to  Baltimore  was  an  uneventful  one,  though 
there  was  a  heavy  fall  of  rain  part  of  the  time.  At  daylight  the 
next  morning  the  train  entered  Baltimore,  the  scene  of  the  riot 
with  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  Regiment  a  few  months  before,  which 
event  seemed  to  be  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  men  as  they 
disembarked  from  the  cars.  The  regiment  had  not  proceeded  far 
upon  the  march  through  the  streets  of  that  city  before  it  was  noticed 
that  there  was  a  sad  lack  of  enthusiasm  for  the  Union  soldier,  com 
pared  with  that  exhibited  in  Philadelphia  the  day  before.  The  colored 
people  appeared  to  be  almost  the  only  class  to  cheer  the  regiment 
and  the  Union  cause,  while  crowds  of  whites  stood  sullenly  at  the 
street  corners,  and  some  of  the  small  boys  cheered  for  Jeff  Davis. 
The  march  to  the  Washington  depot  was  unmolested,  however,  and 
the  men  were  again  packed  into  cars.  The  skies  had  cleared 
and  the  men  were  in  good  spirits.  The  railroad  to  Washington 
was  guarded  by  soldiers,  as  it  was  still  considered  in  danger  of  being 
torn  up  by  the  Confederates. 

Washington  was  reached  on  the  afternoon  of  the  yth,  when 
the  regiment  was  marched  into  a  large  building  near  the  railroad 
depot,  called  the  "Soldier's  Rest,"  and  given  a  good  meal  of 
soldier's  fare  consisting  of  coffee,  beef  and  bread,  from  cups  and 
plates  of  tin.  The  regiment  was  then  marched  by  the  Capitol  and 


22  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

through  the  city  to  Kalorama  Heights,  where  it  bivouacked  after 
dark.  The  night  was  clear  and  frosty.  The  men  built  fires  and 
spread  their  blankets  upon  the  ground  and  laid  down  to  rest  around 
the  fires.  In  the  morning  everything  was  covered  with  a  white 
frost,  but  for  the  most  part  all  slept  comfortably. 

The  next  morning  tents  were  pitched  and  the  men  made  as 
comfortable  as  they  had  been  at  Camp  Lacey.  Upon  every  hand 
was  to  be  seen  signs  of  army  life — snow-white  encampments,  long 
trains  of  army  wagons,  regiments  arriving  and  regiments  at  drill. 

Captain  Durell  at  once  resumed  the  daily  foot  drills  of  his 
company,  in  which  it  had  now  become  quite  proficient,  and  the 
men  were  anxious  to  receive  their  horses  and  guns.  It  was  com 
mon  camp  report  that  the  company  was  to  be  equipped  with  rifles 
and  retained  with  the  regiment  as  a  skirmish  battalion,  to  which 
there  was  no  small  amount  of  demurring.  They  had  enlisted  for 
the  artillery  service,  and  wanted  horses  and  guns.  But  their  minds 
were  soon  set  at  rest  upon  this  question  by  the  issue  of  an  order 
from  the  War  Department  providing  for  the  consolidation  of  the 
artillery,  and  sending  all  companies  organized  for  that  branch  of 
the  service  to  a  camp  of  artillery  instruction.  In  compliance  with 
this  order  Captain  Durell  marched  his  company  to  Camp  Duncan, 
located  on  East  Capitol  Hill,  just  one  week  after  the  arrival  at  Kalo 
rama  Heights.  The  company  was  sorry  to  leave  the  regiment,  yet 
glad  at  the  prospect  of  receiving  the  equipment  they  wanted.  It 
was  at  the  time  supposed  that  the  separation  would  be  but  tem 
porary,  and  that  it  would  be  returned  to  the  regiment  after  receiv 
ing  the  proper  equipment  and  instruction.  But  the  battery  never 
rejoined  the  regiment. 

The  artillery  company  left  Kalorama  on  the  afternoon  of 
November  i4th,  in  a  light  rain,  and  marched  through  the  city  to 
its  new  camping  place  which  it  reached  just  before  dark.  The 
wagons  carrying  the  camp  equipage  came  up  promptly,  so  that  the 
tents  were  soon  pitched  and  shelter  obtained  for  the  men,  but 
there  was  no  wood  at  hand  for  fires  with  which  to  boil  the  coffee. 
A  battery  of  Germans  from  New  York,  beside  whose  camp  the 
Ringgolds  had  pitched  their  tents,  kindly  made  and  brought  over 
to  the  newcomers  several  kettles  of  this  important  beverage  of  the 
soldier.  It  was  served  to  the  company,  but  it  proved  to  possess 
such  a  villainously  saline  taste  that  no  one  could  drink  it.  The 
Germans  were  very  much  mortified  when  they  discovered  that 
they  had  used  salt  with  which  to  sweeten  the  coffee,  and  immedi- 


CAPTAIN  GEORGE  W.   DURELL 


ORGANIZATION.  23 

ately  proceeded  to  make  a  fresh  supply,  which  was  soon  brought 
over  and  served  with  profuse  apologies  for  the  mistake.  Thus  was 
the  bond  of  comradeship  between  the  New  York  Germans  and  the 
Pennsylvania  "Dutch"  formed  and  sealed  at  once. 

The  splendid  autumn  weather  of  the  days  that  followed  while 
in  this  camp  were  improved  in  drilling,  and,  when  passes  could  be 
obtained,  in  visiting  the  city,  the  men  usually  going  out  in  squads 
of  from  two  to  six  in  number.  They  visited  the  Capitol  where 
Congress  was  then  sitting ;  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  various 
department  buildings,  the  arsenal  and  other  points  of  interest. 
Occasionally  one  would  pass  a  night  in  the  guard  house,  having 
been  overtaken  by  the  provost  guard  and  arrested  for  overstaying 
the  time  allotted  by  his  pass,  or  for  having  indulged  too  freely  in 
the  stimulating  beverage  of  John  Barleycorn.  There  were,  how 
ever,  a  number  of  religious  young  men  in  the  company,  who 
attended  services  at  a  nearby  Methodist  church  as  often  as  they 
could  obtain  passes  to  leave  camp,  both  on  the  Sabbath  and  dur 
ing  the  week. 

It  was  an  unfailing  source  of  amusement  for  the  company  to 
witness  the  maneuvers  of  the  New  York  Germans  every  morning 
when  they  started  out  of  camp  for  field  drill.  Many  of  these  men 
were  unskilled  in  the  art  of  handling  or  riding  horses,  and  the 
horses  were  green  in  the  service  and  some  of  them  vicious.  Many 
of  the  latter  balked,  kicked  or  plunged  about,  while  the  men 
whipped  and  murdered  the  king's  "Dutch,"  occasionally  one  of 
the  drivers  being  unhorsed  and  measuring  his  length  upon  the 
ground.  The  comic  scenes  displayed  upon  these  occasions 
remained  a  source  of  amusing  reminiscence  around  the  camp 
fires  of  the  battery  during  the  entire  period  of  its  service. 

On  November  i7th,  the  company  received  its  first  visit  from 
the  army  paymaster,  when  each  private  was  paid  $16.03,  tnat 
being  the  amount  due  from  September  24th  to  November  ist. 
Everyone  in  camp  appeared  to  be  "short,"  so  that  this  visit,  as 
all  subsequent  visits  from  the  paymaster  proved  to  be,  was  a  very 
agreeable  and  welcome  one. 

On  November  28th  the  company  received  its  quota  of  horses. 
Quite  a  number  of  the  men  were  eager  to  have  horses,  while 
others  desired  to  serve  as  cannoneers.  Captain  Durell  wisely 
called  the  men  into  line,  and  requested  all  who  wished  to  serve  as 
drivers  to  step  two  paces  to  the  front.  Fortunately  the  required 
number  of  drivers  stepped  forward,  so  that  the  matter  of  choosing 


24  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

drivers  and  cannoneers  was  settled  without  clash  or  disappoint 
ment.  Half  a  dozen  posts  were  planted  in  the  ground,  to  which 
a  heavy  picket-rope  was  attached,  stretched  from  post  to  post,  and 
the  horses  tied  thereto.  Here  they  remained  night  and  day,  in 
rain  or  sunshine,  without  any  shelter  whatever,  the  monotony 
being  broken  but  twice  a  day  when  they  were  taken  to  the  Eastern 
Branch  of  the  Potomac  River,  near  the  arsenal,  for  water. 

About  ten  days  later  the  harness  was  received  and  fitted  to 
the  horses,  and  on  the  i2th  of  December  the  company  received 
four  rifled  Parrott  and  two  smooth  bore  brass  guns,  six  caissons,  a 
battery  wagon,  a  forge,  and  three  baggage  wagons  with  their  com 
plement  of  animals  and  harness.  The  A-tents  were  turned  in 
about  the  same  time  and  Sibley  tents  provided,  eighteen  men 
being  assigned  to  each  tent.  From  this  date  the  command  was  a 
full-fledged  "battery."  But  it  had  not  yet  undergone  a  single 
field- drill  when  orders  were  received  to  march  forward  into  Vir 
ginia.  Sabres  were  issued  to  the  non-commissioned  officers  and 
drivers  the  evening  before  the  march 

Two  deaths  occurred  while  at  Camp  Duncan,  both  from 
typhoid  fever,  and  there  were  several  men  in  the  hospital  suffer 
ing  from  chills  and  fever.  The  first  death  was  that  of  Jacob  H. 
Schaeffer,  which  occurred  on  December  8th,  the  other  was 
Christian  Eyler,  on  December  nth.  The  remains  of  the  first 
man  were  sent  to  his  late  home  in  Reading,  each  member  of  the 
battery  contributing  a  dollar  for  this  purpose.  Two  men  returned 
from  the  hospital  and  reported  for  duty  a  few  days  before  the 
departure  for  Virginia. 


AT  THE  FRONT.  25 


CHAPTER  II. 
AT  THE  FRONT. 

OOTS-AND-SADDLES"  was  sounded  on  the  morning 
of  December  i8th,  when  the  battery  moved  out  of  its 
"camp  of  instruction,"  without  having  received  any 
training  with  horses  and  cannon  whatever,  and  marched  directly 
toward  the  enemy.  But  the  horses  and  men  worked  together 
remarkably  well  for  the  first  attempt,  so  that  the  march  through 
the  streets  of  Washington,  at  least,  did  not  bring  disgrace  upon 
the  command. 

When  the  Long  Bridge  was  reached,  it  was  found  to  be  out  of 
repair.  This  made  necessary  a  circuitous  route  to  the  Chain 
Bridge,  over  which  the  Potomac  River  was  crossed  into  Virginia. 
The  distance  to  the  new  camp  was  but  nine  miles,  but  so  many 
halts  were  made  that  it  was  10  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  the 
battery  parked  at  Camp  DuPont,  which  was  located  about  half  a 
mile  from  Bailey's  Cross  Roads,  alongside  the  camp  of  three  bat 
teries  of  General  McDowell's  artillery.  The  fortifications  of 
Munson's  Hill  were  but  a  few  hundred  yards  distant.  They  were 
built  by  the  Confederates  but  were  now  occupied  by  the  troops  of 
McDowell,  to  whose  command  the  battery  was  now  assigned. 
Tents  were  pitched,  coffee  boiled,  supper  eaten,  and  the  men  rolled 
into  their  blankets  to  sleep  the  sweet  sleep  of  a  march-weary  sol 
dier.  The  next  day  the  quarters  were  rearranged,  and  on  the  day 
following,  details  of  men  were  sent  to  the  pine  woods  near  by  to 
cut  and  carry  into  camp,  poles  and  pine  brush  for  the  construction 
of  sheds  for  the  shelter  of  the  horses,  which  were  completed  in 
a  few  days. 

The  four  batteries  of  McDowell's  Division,  consisting  of  Bat 
tery  B,  Fourth  Regulars,  Monroe's  Rhode  Island,  the  First  New 
Hampshire  and  DurelFs  Batteries,  were  under  command  of  Cap 
tain  John  Gibbon,  of  the  regular  battery,  chief  of  artillery  of  the 
division.  DurelFs  Battery  was  at  once  introduced  into  the  myste 
ries  of  gun  drill  and  soon  acquired  a  superficial  knowledge  of  hand 
ling  and  manoeuvering  the  cannon  by  hand.  Joseph  M.  Cuffel  and 
James  S.  Rich  were  appointed  buglers,  and  William  S.  McNair  to 


26  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

carry  the  guidon.  The  latter  was  also  detailed  as  battery  mail  car 
rier,  whose  duty  it  was  to  take  the  mail  every  morning  to  Wash 
ington  and  return  with  mail  for  the  battery  in  the  evening. 

The  weather  at  this  time  was  very  pleasant,  there  having  been 
no  rain  for  about  a  month  previous  to  Christmas  eve.  That  night 
there  was  a  pretty  heavy  rain  fall,  which  gave  the  battery  an  ex 
perience  with  "Virginia  mud."  Christmas  dinner,  the  next  day, 
consisted  of  a  plate  of  boiled  rice  and  sugar  for  each  man,  though 
some  who  had  money  purchased  mince  pie,  hawked  through  the 
camps  by  Washington  pedlers.  A  few  boxes  were  also  received 
from  home  containing  turkey,  pies,  and  other  delicacies 

This  region  of  country  having  been  alternately  in  the  posses 
sion  of  the  Confederate  and  Union  armies  had  been  stripped  of 
fences  and  crops,  and  in  many  cases  the  buildings  had  been  de 
stroyed.  It  was  little  better  than  a  desert  Every  particle  of  fence 
for  miles  around  the  encampment  had  been  cleared  by  the  soldiers 
and  used  by  them  for  fire  wood  ;  and  fruit  and  ornamental  trees 
had  been  felled  for  fuel.  It  was  the  enemy's  country,  and  the 
Union  soldiers  did  not  feel  much  like  sparing  what  little  improve 
ments  they  found. 

The  men  were  now  quartered  in  Sibley  tents  provided  with 
a  sheet-iron  stove  in  the  centre.  Cedar  boughs  were  found  to 
make  the  best  bed,  upon  which  the  rubber  blanket  was  spread. 
This  made  tolerably  comfortable  quarters.  But  there  was  much 
wet  weather  during  the  winter  which  made  soldiering  anything  but 
pleasant. 

The  roads  were  at  times  almost  impassable  from  frequent 
freezing  and  thawing  of  the  ground.  At  intervals  it  would  rain, 
hail  or  snow  for  days  in  succession.  Twelve  horses  were  some 
times  required  to  haul  one  of  the  guns  through  the  mud.  Before 
the  middle  of  January  the  animals  stood  in  nearly  a  foot  of  mud 
in  the  cedar  stables,  and  many  were  terribly  afflicted  with  scratches. 
They  were  taken  out  and  tied  in  the  woods  and  the  men  set  to 
work  in  placing  a  corduroy  floor  in  the  stables. 

On  the  3rd  of  January  the  troops  were  treated  to  a  view  of  a 
sham  battle,  given  by  ten  regiments  of  infantry,  three  batteries  of 
artillery  and  one  regiment  of  cavalry.  It  took  place  about  half  a 
mile  from  camp,  between  Bailey's  Cross  Roads  and  Munson's 
Hill.  On  the  i9th  the  battery  received  a  new  lot  of  sabres.  The 
belts  were  taken  from  the  old  ones  and  attached  to  the  new.  The 
next  day  the  men  were  given  their  first  sabre  drill  under  command 


LIEUTENANT   LEMUEL  CRIES 


AT  THE  FRONT.  27 

of  Lieut.  Mcllvain.  The  battery  was  about  this  time  put  through 
a  series  of  inspections,  of  horses,  guns,  drill,  camp,  clothing,  etc., 
which  appeared  to  come  every  few  days,  rain  or  shine.  Upon  one 
occasion  the  command  was  kept  in  line  in  a  cold  rain  that  froze  as 
it  fell,  the  men  returning  to  their  quarters  with  icicles  hanging 
from  their  hair  and  clothing. 

On  the  25th  of  January  the  paymaster  made  his  second  call 
upon  the  battery,  and  gave  the  men  two  month's  pay — $26  to  each 
private  soldier. 

On  the  2yth  the  battery  went  out  on  its  first  section  drill. 
The  horses  and  men  did  admirably,  much  to  the  surprise  and 
gratification  of  all.  The  drill  ground  showed  very  mournfully  the 
desolation  of  war.  Within  its  bounds  could  be  seen  the  ruins  of 
four  large  mansions — merely  a  few  bricks  or  a  half-burnt  piece  of 
timber,  showing  the  ruthless  hand  of  the  destroyer.  The  ground 
that  was  once  a  garden  was  cut  up  with  the  heavy  wheels  and  horse 
hoofs  of  the  artillery,  the  dried  cabbage  stalks  still  standing  in  their 
places  like  so  many  grim  sentinels  guarding  the  deserted  abode  of 
the  other  vegetables,  once  their  companions.  Not  a  fence  rail 
remained,  and  the  only  resemblance  to  an  enclosure  were  two 
heavy  gate  posts,  left  in  their  positions  from  the  fact  that  they 
were  too  unweildy  to  be  removed.  A  circular  excavation,  with  a 
half  choked-up  stream  running  from  it,  marked  a  fish  pond.  Fire 
and  the  axe  had  obliterated  all  else.  Scarcely  a  house  in  that 
section,  belonging  at  that  time  to  a  man  of  Union  sentiments,  was 
left  standing.  The  Union  soldiery  retaliated  and  destroyed  the 
property  of  the  Confederates. 

An  old  pie  woman  from  Washington  visited  the  camp  regu 
larly  every  day,  and  the  battery  boys  gave  her  a  very  liberal 
patronage,  so  much  so,  that  failure  on  her  part  to  put  in  an 
appearance  as  usual  was  deemed  quite  a  calamity. 

The  winter  at  Camp  DuPont  was  an  exceedingly  rainy  and 
disagreeable  one.  From  the  first  of  the  year  to  the  6th  of  Feb 
ruary  there  were  twenty-six  days  of  stormy  weather,  with  either 
rain  or  snow.  Up  to  this  time  there  were  only  two  cases  of 
sickness  in  the  camp,  and  those  were  slight  cases  of  diarrhoea. 
There  was  no  regular  doctor  for  the  battery  and  the  sick  had  to  go 
up  to  the  surgeon  of  Battery  B,  Fourth  Regulars.  There  was  no 
chaplain  in  the  camp,  which  consisted  merely  of  four  batteries  unat 
tached  to  any  regiment  or  brigade.  The  Sunday  work  was  never 
over  until  noon.  There  were  no  drills  on  that  day,  but  the  regular 
Sunday  morning  inspection  was  equivalent  to  drill. 


28  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

Camp  life  grew  very  monotonous,  though  it  was  somewhat 
relieved  by  target  practice.  The  battery  on  one  occasion  beat  the 
regulars  shooting,  all  the  balls  nearing  the  target  and  two  passing 
through  it,  while  all  of  their' s  fell  short. 

News  of  General  Grant's  victories  at  Forts  Henry  and  Don 
aldson  were  received  in  the  camps  with  much  rejoicing.  The  bat 
tery's  camp  was  located  within  a  mile  of  Upton's  Hill.  From  its 
breastworks  could  be  seen  the  camps  of  some  thirty  regiments  of 
McDowell's  Corps.  On  February  gih,  the  left  and  centre  sections 
of  the  battery  were  taken  out  for  drill,  to  accustom  the  horses  that 
had  not  yet  undergone  a  fire,  to  the  report  of  the  guns.  Two 
rounds  of  blank  cartridges  were  fired  and  nearly  all  of  the  horses 
took  it  very  quietly.  Those  in  the  teams  behaved  better  than  the 
officer's  horses. 

There  were  frequent  gun  and  field  drills  as  the  weather  permitted. 
The  difference  between  these  drills  was  as  follows  :  A  battery  of 
light  artillery  was  divided  into  six  gun  detachments,  consisting  of 
fifteen  men  in  each  ;  nine  cannoneers  and  six  drivers  ;  each  under 
the  command  of  a  sergeant,  who  was  called  the  chief  of  piece.  He 
had  two  corporals,  of  whom  one  was  the  gunner  and  the  other  the 
chief  of  caisson,  in  charge  of  the  ammunition  belonging  to  his  piece. 
The  sergeant  was  not  only  responsible  for  the  condition  of  his  men 
and  the  care  of  his  twelve  horses,  harness,  etc. ,  but  also  for  the 
proficiency  of  the  men  in  the  service  of  the  piece.  Two  detach 
ments  formed  a  section,  each  section  being  under  command  of  a 
lieutenant.  There  were  three  sections,  denominated  the  right, 
centre  and  left  sections.  The  first  and  second  detachments  com 
posed  the  right  section  ;  the  fifth  and  sixth,  the  centre,  and  the 
third  and  fourth,  the  left.  The  first  lieutenants  had  command  of 
the  right  and  left  sections,  the  senior  second  lieutenant  the  centre, 
and  the  junior  second  lieutenant  had  charge  of  the  line  of  caissons 
and  ammunition.  In  field  drills  the  drivers  were  trained  as  well 
as  the  cannoneers,  as  the  teams  were  all  harassed  and  must  move 
from  the  parks  to  more  extensive  grounds  for  monceuvering.  When 
all  the  sections  maneuvered  together  as  a  battery,  they  were  under 
the  charge  of  the  captain.  Section  or  field  drills  prepared  the  men 
for  maneuvering,  and  gun  drills  for  service  at  the  piece. 

February  i4th  was  celebrated  as  St.  Valentine's  Day.  It 
marked  a  new  era  in  the  personal  comfort  of  some  of  the  men. 
Cupid  had  certainly  visited  them  in  an  unexpected  manner.  They 
found  that  they  were  in  possession  of  something  they  never  felt 


AT  THE  FRONT.  29 

before,  and  that  the  strange  visitor  stuck  to  them  closer  than  a 
brother.  The  new-comer  was  christened  "grayback,"  and  his 
presence  continued  to  be  a  source  of  annoyance,  on  sundry  occas 
ions,  throughout  the  term  of  service. 

The  guns  of  the  battery  had,  up  to  this  time,  consisted  of  two 
smooth-bore  brass  pieces  and  four  ten-pound  rifle  Parrott  guns. 
On  the  2oth  of  February,  the  brass  pieces  were  turned  in  at  the 
arsenal  at  Washington,  and  two  Parrott  guns  were  received  in  their 
place.  Washington's  Birthday  was  celebrated  by  a  salute  of  thirty- 
four  guns  from  the  battery. 

A  detachment  of  Durell's  Battery  had  the  honor  of  being  de 
tailed  to  carry  the  remains  of  General  Lander  to  their  last  resting 
place.  His  body  had  been  brought  to  Washington  from  a  Western 
battle-field  where  he  fell.  The  ammunition  chests  were  removed 
from  one  of  the  caissons,  upon  which  the  coffin  was  placed  for  con 
veyance  to  the  burying  ground. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  the  battery  received  two  boxes  of 
clothing  sent  by  the  Aid  Society  of  Reading.  Their  contents  con 
sisted  of  woolen  gloves  and  stockings,  knit  of  home-spun  yarn, 
very  heavy,  the  latter  with  double  heels  and  toes.  The  men  were 
pleased  with  the  present  and  cheered  the  Berks  County  girls  to  the 
echo. 

The  camp  was  now  full  of  rumors  as  to  the  proposed  forward 
movement  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  An  advance  upon  the 
Confederates  at  Manassas  was  hourly  expected.  This,  it  was  said, 
would  crush  the  rebellion  in  Virginia,  as  General  Grant  had 
crushed  it  in  Tennessee,  and  the  war  would  be  of  short  duration. 
In  fact,  some  of  the  men  expected  to  return  to  their  homes  before 
the  4th  of  July,  and  were  speculating  upon  the  fine  time  they 
would  then  have.  These  speculations  were  a  source  of  consider 
able  amusement  when  recalled  around  the  camp-fires  many  a  day 
afterward. 


30  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ADVANCE  UPON  MANASSAS. 

THE  battery  left  Camp  DuPont  on  the  morning  of  March 
loth,  with  the  leading  column  in  the  advance  upon  Man- 
asses.  The  route  to  Fairfax  was  a  faithful  picture  of  van 
dalism.  For  a  distance  of  six  or  seven  miles  not  a  whole  house 
was  to  be  seen.  Where  the  buildings  had  not  been  burned  down, 
the  cavalry  pickets  had  torn  off  the  weatherboards  for  firewood, 
and  used  the  structures  as  horse  stables.  The  column  crossed  one 
railroad,  or  at  least  what  had  been  one,  nothing  being  left  of  it 
save  the  embankment.  The  culverts  had  been  torn  down,  the 
rails,  carried  away,  and  the  ties  piled  in  heaps  and  burned.  At 
the  crossing  were  the  remains  of  a  large  steam  mill.  Three 
enormous  boilers  had  been  rolled  out  from  their  positions  and 
the  machinery  was  lying  around  in  every  direction.  On  the  out 
skirts  of  Fairfax  were  a  few  rifle-pits.  The  town  was  a  small  one, 
comprising  about  twelve  houses.  Before  the  war  it  no  doubt  had 
been  a  very  pleasant  little  place  of  residence.  The  buildings  were 
mostly  frame.  Some  were  of  plain  brick,  and  compared  very 
favorably  with  Northern  houses,  others  had  been  cemented  over 
and  presented  a  very  neat  appearance.  It  contained  a  court  house 
and  jail  and  three  churches  which  were  entirely  despoiled  of  any 
pretensions  to  pulpit  or  pews.  The  fences  around  the  public 
buildings  were  all  gone,  and  in  many  instances,  around  the  private 
residences.  But  three  or  four  houses  were  tenanted  by  their 
original  owners,  and  there  were  few  families  yet  remaining  in  the 
place.  When  the  battery  passed  through,  the  houses  were  all  occu 
pied  by  Union  troops,  who  had  arrived  the  day  before.  The 
battery  encamped  for  the  night  on  the  same  ground  where 
McDowell  had  placed  his  army  before  the  opening  of  the  Bull 
Run  battle.  Rain  fell  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  but  at  about 
4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  battery  parked  in  a  field  on  the 
edge  of  a  wood,  the  rain  and  clouds  disappeared  and  the  sun 
shone  brightly.  The  men  were  hungry  and  ate  their  hard  tack 
and  drank  their  patent  coffee  with  satisfaction.  This  patent  coffee 
professed  to  be  coffee  with  sugar  and  milk  combined.  It  was 


ADVANCE  UPON  MANASSAS.  31 

furnished  in  gallon  cans,  each  can  to  make  one  thousand  rations  of 
coffee.  A  very  thick  pine  woods  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  for 
est  from  the  park  was  chosen  to  picket  the  horses  in.  The  men 
took  the  tarpaulins  from  off  the  guns  and  made  tents  to  sleep  under, 
the  tents  having  been  left  standing  in  Camp  DuPont. 

The  command  was  moving  the  next  morning  by  7  o'clock, 
but  made  a  short  march  of  it.  The  battery  encamped  on  the 
same  spot  where  the  Alabama  regiments  were  encamped  the  pre 
vious  fall,  judging  from  the  relics  bearing  marks  of  the  Fifteenth 
Alabama  Regiment  found  scattered  about,  and  very  near  the  scene 
of  the  battle  of  Chantilly  which  occurred  nearly  six  months  later. 
From  the  specimens  of  the  letters  found  it  was  judged  that  those 
composing  these  regiments  were  of  the  '-poor  white  "  class  of  the 
South.  The  northwest  portion  of  the  ground  was  bounded  by  a 
semi -circular  woods  in  which  were  encamped  five  regiments  of 
New  York  troops.  The  battery's  next  neighbor  was  the  Fourteenth 
Brooklyn  Regiment  which  lost  so  many  men  at  Bull  Run.  Between 
the  battery  and  Centreville  General  Wadsworth's  brigade  was 
encamped.  Next  beyond  them  all  the  cavalry  was  posted.  The 
battery  remained  in  camp  all  day  with  the  horses  harnessed  and 
saddled  ready  to  move  at  any  moment.  Towards  noon  word  came 
that  the  enemy  had  evacuated  Manassas.  This  was  a  disappoint 
ment.  The  advance  was  at  an  end.  General  Wadsworth  imme 
diately  named  the  place  Camp  Disappointment.  On  the  i2th 
most  of  the  cavalry  and  some  infantry  passed  the  camp  on  the 
reuirn  march  to  Washington,  among  them  the  Eighth  Pennsylva 
nia  Cavalry.  Nothing  of  any  moment  transpired  during  the  week 
after  this  until  the  isth,  when  the  battery  took  the  line  of  march 
to  Alexandria,  to  join  the  expedition  then  forming  for  Yorktown. 
It  begain  to  rain  soon  after  starting,  and  fell  in  torrents  during  the 
remainder  of  the  day.  The  cannoneers  marched  through  streams 
over  boot  top  deep.  When  within  eight  miles  of  Alexandria,  a 
creek  was  reached  which  the  battery  was  unable  to  cross.  The 
captain  countermarched  and  went  to  Camp  DuPont,  where  the 
tents  were  still  standing.  These  were  reached  near  midnight  and 
the  men  turned  in  cold  and  wet.  On  the  i6th  the  command 
marched  to  Alexandria,  expecting  to  embark,  but  it  was  sent  back, 
as  the  steamers  could  not  take  them,  nothing  being  ready.  About 
this  time  McClellan's  army  was  divided  into  four  corps  :  General 
McDowell  commanding  the  First  corps,  consisting  of  the  divisions 
of  Porter,  Smith,  Franklin  and  King,  Durell's  Battery  being 
assigned  to  the  latter  division. 


32  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  battery  remained  in  Camp  DuPont  during  the  i  yth  and 
a  portion  of  the  following  day.  The  guns,  caissons  and  harness  had 
been  washed  in  the  morning,  so  that  the  command  presented  a 
respectable  appearance  after  the  mud  splashing  it  received  in  the 
rain  on  the  i6th  Orders  came  to  march  at  3  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon.  The  battery  moved  across  the  old  drill  ground  to  the  turn 
pike.  Just  below  Bailey's  Cross  Roads  it  was  halted  for  nearly 
two  hours.  It  then  moved  on,  and  at  dark  halted  about  three 
miles  west  of  Alexandria,  and  encamped  on  a  large  flat  piece  of 
ground,  which  had  been  used  during  the  winter  for  artillery  drills. 
It  was  upon  the  Confederate  General  Lee's  farm.  On  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  turnpike  from  the  camp  stood  his  residence,  with  a 
large  grove  of  trees  around  it.  It  had  been  a  beautiful  place  ;  but 
the  fences  and  many  trees  had  been  taken  for  fuel.  The  house 
was  used  as  the  headquarters  of  the  colonel  of  a  New  York  regiment 
which  had  been  garrisoning  the  forts  during  the  winter.  Fairfax 
Seminary  was  located  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  south  of  the 
camp.  It  was  on  a  very  pretty  site,  commanding  a  full  view  of  the 
river  and  of  Washington  and  Alexandria.  The  buildings  were  nine 
or  ten  in  number,  of  fine  red  pressed  brick,  and  presented  a  very 
beautiful  appearance.  It  was  the  ' '  crack  ' '  institution  of  the  South. 
At  the  time  the  rebellion  broke  out,  its  catalogue  showed  over  two 
hundred  and  fifty  young  lady  pupils.  Just  west  of  General  Lee's 
residence  was  Fort  Warren,  built  on  his  property.  In  it  were 
mounted  thirty  guns,  of  the  calibre  of  10  and  2o-pounder  rifled 
field  guns,  and  twenty  32  and  42-pounder  heavy  guns.  This  fort 
was  built  to  drive  the  Confederates  from  Munson's  Hill,  but  they 
evacuated  before  the  guns  were  mounted.  A  short  distance  from 
the  camp,  toward  Washington,  was  Fort  Blenker,  also  well 
mounted.  In  the  direction  of  Alexandria  were  Forts  Ellsworth 
and  Ward.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  drill  ground  were  encamped 
the  95th  Pennsylvania,  Col.  Gosline's  Philadelphia  Zouaves. 

The  men  of  the  battery  were  presented  with  a  lot  of  oil-cloth 
ponchos,  which  were  to  be  worn  by  the  drivers  on  a  rainy  day 
when  marching,  and  at  night  made  into  tents.  Three  of  them 
formed  a  tent  large  enough  for  three  men  to  sleep  in  very  comfort 
ably,  provided  it  did  not  rain  too  hard  ;  when  it  did,  they  leaked 
more  or  less.  The  cannoneers  made  tents  of  the  tarpaulins.  It 
rained  during  the  remainder  of  the  week,  and  the  weather  was 
cold  and  chilly.  The  camp  ground  was  muddy  and  slippery,  the 
most  unpleasant  so  far  experienced.  Finally  the  weather  cleared 


OF  THE 

'UNIVERSITY 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE  W.  SILVIS 


ADVANCE  UPON  MANASSAS.  33 

off,  when  the  battery  participated  in  a  battalion  drill  with  the  other 
batteries  of  the  division.  [t  was  an  exciting  drill,  especially  to 
those  on  the  moving  flank. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  General  McDowell  reviewed  his  army 
corps.  It  was  about  30,000  strong.  Lord  Lyons  was  out  with 
McDowell ;  he  wore  a  huge  high-top  hat  and  was  a  wretched  rider. 
He  looked  as  if  he  might  be  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  stove-pipe 
cavalry.  In  the  meantime,  troops  were  being  shipped  as  rapidly 
as  possible  from  Alexandria,  but  the  work  progressed  slowly. 
Orders  for  the  embarkation  of  the  battery  to  join  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  before  Yorktown  were  momentarily  expected.  General 
Barry,  chief  of  artillery,  informed  Captain  Durell  that  his  destina 
tion  was  Yorktown,  and  said  that  Colonel  Davis  had  made  some 
effort  to  have  the  battery  returned  to  the  io4th  regiment. 

Drills  and  reviews  followed  in  almost  continuous  succession. 
Snow  fell  on  the  29th  and  rain  on  April  ist.  The  weather  was 
very  cold  and  unpleasant,  and  the  ground  sloppy.  The  heating 
accommodations  were  very  poor,  and  many  of  the  men  kept  in 
their  blankets  throughout  the  day  in  order  to  keep  warm. 

The  citizens  of  Alexandria  were  strong  Secessionists  and  the 
soldiers  had  frequent  encounters  with  them.  The  women  were  the 
most  demonstrative.  They  would  not  pass  under  the  flag  if  they 
could  possibly  avoid  it,  and  would  cross  the  street  to  keep  away 
from  its  shadow.  At  the  Marshall  House,  where  Ellsworth  was 
killed,  a  flag  was  stretched  over  the  pavement  like  an  awning,  which 
was  specially  distasteful  to  them.  The  slave  pen  was  the  greatest 
curiosity  of  Alexandria.  The  name  was  well  chosen,  for  it  was  a 
regular  succession  of  pens  and  stalls,  without  windows,  in  which  the 
miserable  creatures  were  confined.  It  was  a  wretched  and  filthy 
looking  place.  Negro  trading  was  a  great  feature  of  the  business 
of  Alexandria.  The  Richmond  market  depended  on  it  largely  for 
its  invoices. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2pth  the  battery  was  most  agreeably 
surprised  by  a  visit  from  a  squad  of  the  io4th  regiment,  which  had 
crossed  into  Virginia  the  previous  night  and  bivouacked  about  a 
mile  from  the  battery.  A  number  of  members  of  the  battery  went 
down  to  see  them  at  their  camp.  They  were  in  a  sorry  plight. 
Snow  was  falling  and  they  had  no  tents — quite  a  different  experi 
ence  from  quartering  in  Carver's  Barracks.  The  next  day  the 
regiment  marched  to  Alexandria  and  embarked.  On  the  same  day 
the  battery  received  a  guidon  from  Doylestown. 


34  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
CAPTURE  OF  FREDERICKSBURG. 

ON    April    4th    the    battery    moved    with    McDowell's  Corps 
towards    Fredericksburg,    marching    up    the    turnpike   to 
Bailey's    Cross    Roads,    in    sight    of  the    winter    quarters. 
Here  a  halt  of  nearly  an  hour  was  made.      The  old  camp  looked 
desolate.     But  one  tent  was  standing  and  most  of  the  brush  stables 
had  been  torn  down.       When  the  battery  moved  from  the  camp, 
orders  were  issued   to  leave  the   tents.      The  infantry  came  along 
afterward  and  took  them.     While  the  column  was  at  a  halt,  a  num 
ber  of  carriages  containing  ladies  came  from  Washington  to  see  a 
review  of  troops,  which  had  been  ordered  to  take  place  that  after 
noon  as  a  blind  to  veil  the  purpose  of  the  movement  of  the  corps. 
The  column  moved  out  the  Fairfax  road,  along   the  route  of  its 
former  march,  and  encamped  for  the  night  about  a  mile  beyond 
Avondale.      About  this  time  the  battery  was   assigned  to  a  brigade 
composed  of  the    Second,    Sixth  and  Seventh  Wisconsin  and  the 
Nineteenth  Indiana  Regiments,  afterward  known  as  General  Gib 
bon's  Iron  Brigade.     The  next  day  it  marched  through  Fairfax  and 
passed    through    Centreville.      On    examining    the    forts    and   the 
wooden  guns  left   by  the   Confederates  at  Centreville,  the   smoke 
stack  of  a  locomotive  was  discovered  peeping  out  from  the  embra 
sures.      Here  the  march  was  taken  to  the  left  over  a  wretched  cor 
duroy  road  towards  Manassas.      The  command  encamped  near  the 
ground  where  the  skirmish  took  place  before  the  Bull  Run  battle. 
On  Sunday  the  6th  the  march   was   continued  on   the  cordu 
roy  road,  passing  through   Manassas,  which  looked  the  picture  of 
desolation,  fording  Broad  Creek  at   Millford  and  encamp:ng  near 
Bristoe.      Here  the  corps  remained  for  about  a  week  on  account  of 
a   continued   rain   and   snow  which   made   the   roads   impassable. 
While    here  the   batterymen    took  their   first  lesson   in   foraging. 
They  roamed  the  country   about   and  brought  pigs,  sheep,  forage, 
etc.,  into  camp.      Very  near  to  the  camp  was  an  old  house  used  as 
a  brigade   hospital,  in   which   was  a   case  of  small  pox ;  but,  not 
withstanding    the  presence   of  this  dread   disease,  the  men   went 
into   the  building   to   get  warm.      Fortunately,  however,  none  of 


CAPTURE  OF  FREDERICKSBURG.  35 

them  contracted  the  contagion.  From  the  marks  and  remains  of 
the  tents  lying  around  and  the  boards  at  the  graves  of  two  yards 
near  by,  it  was  inferred  that  the  spot  was  Camp  Jones,  where  a 
Mississippi  brigade,  consisting  of  the  Second,  Seventh  and  Nine 
teenth  Regiments  had  been  encamped.  In  the  two  small  inclos- 
ures  were  counted  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  graves,  and  all 
had  died  within  a  few  days  of  each  other,  the  majority  from  the 
25th  to  the  28th  of  August.  This  led  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
had  died  of  wounds  received  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  though 
the  citizens  in  the  locality  said  that  a  fever  had  raged  among 
the  troops. 

On  April  i6th  the  battery  moved  to  Catlett's  Station  about  six 
miles  from  Bristoe,  where  it  was  halted  for  a  day  to  await  the  com 
pletion  of  railroad  communication  The  day  after  it  moved  toward 
Fredercksburg.  On  the  way  the  battery  was  detached  from  the 
column  by  taking  the  wrong  route,  and  marched  some  six  miles 
out  of  their  course  over  muddy  and  difficult  roads,  the  guns  and 
baggage  wagons  sticking  fast  in  the  mud  several  times.  Finally 
the  right  road  was  found  and  the  proper  place  in  the  column 
resumed.  In  the  meantime  a  heavy  thunder  sto  m  came  on.  The 
rain  fell  in  torrents,  making  the  roads  muddy  and  drenching  the 
troops  to  the  skin.  In  this  condition  the  battery  parked  in  a 
field  by  the  wayside  at  about  n  o'clock  at  night  in  absolute  dark 
ness.  The  men  bivouacked  as  best  they  could.  Cornfodder 
stacked  in  the  adjoining  field  furnished  feed  for  the  horses  and 
bedding  for  the  troops.  Rolling  themselves  in  their  blankets  the 
men  went  to  sleep  supperless,  as  it  was  impossible  to  find  fuel  and 
water  for  cooking  coffee  in  the  impenetrable  gloom  of  the  night. 

The  next  morning  was  bright  and  clear,  and  the  warm  sun 
shine  soon  dried  the  men's  clothes  on  their  backs,  the  process 
causing  steam  to  rise  from  each  person,  as  though  just  coming 
from  a  warm  bath.  The  Confederate  who  owned  the  cornfodder, 
came  over  to  the  camp  and  demanded  $18  per  stack  for  it.  He 
received  the  quartermaster's  note  for  the  amount,  allowing  him 
pay  at  the  close  of  the  war.  The  march  was  resumed  early  in  the 
morning  and  a  very  fair  agricultural  country  traversed.  Very  few 
white  people  remained  at  the  houses,  but  the  colored  people  were 
everywhere  along  the  road  out  in  full  force  to  greet  the  soldiers, 
with  their  broad  smiles  and  comical  remarks  and  gestures. 

When  within  a  couple  of  miles  from  Fredericksburg,  the  scene 
of  an  engagement  that  took  place  the  day  before  was  reached.  In  the 


36  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

fight,  cavalry,  consisting  of  a  detachment  of  the  First  Pennsylvania, 
under  command  of  Colonel  G.  D  Bayard,  together  with  a  portion 
of  the  Harris  (New  York)  Light  Cavalry,  was  led  by  a  native  into 
an  ambuscade,  and  fired  upon  by  the  Confederate  cavalry  from  two 
sides.  The  Confederates  were,  however,  driven  off  with  a  loss  to 
the  Union  cavalry  of  forty  in  killed  and  wounded.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Judson  Kilpatrick,  of  the  Harris  Cavalry,  who  afterward 
became  famous  as  a  cavalry  leader,  had  his  horse  shot  from  under 
him.  The  guide  was  unceremoniously  shot  upon  the  spot.  The 
Confederates  were  hotly  pursued  to  Fredericksburg,  where  the 
bridge  was  already  in  flames.  This  compelled  them  to  ford  and 
swim  the  river  to  make  their  escape.  The  artillery  in  advance  got 
up  to  the  river  in  time  to  give  them  a  few  parting  shots,  some  of 
which  took  effect.  The  Confederate  loss  was  not  known  as  they 
were  enabled  to  carry  off  their  dead  and  wounded.  The  bridges 
had  been  made  ready  for  firing  some  days  previous  by  pouring 
barrels  of  tar  over  them,  and  placing  powder  in  the  piers.  Both 
the  wagon  and  railroad  bridges  were  destroyed  at  the  same  time. 
After  the  battery  came  up  a  large  fire  was  seen  in  the  city,  which 
proved  to  be  a  factory  used  for  the  manufacture  of  clothing. 
Trains  of  wagons  were  also  seen  moving  away  from  the  city  toward 
Richmond,  conveying  government  stores.  This  was  an  aggravating 
spectacle  as  viewed  from  the  other  side. 

The  battery  went  into  camp  upon  a  high  hill  in  rear  of  the 
Lacey  House,  nearly  a  mile  from  Fredericksburg,  on  April  i8th. 
Lacey,  the  owner,  was  a  major  in  the  Confederate  army.  His 
dwelling  was  a  very  commodious  one,  built  of  brick  and  surrounded 
by  magnificent  grounds.  The  beautiful  front  lawn  contained  fine 
shade  trees.  Here  the  guns  were  unlimbered  and  put  into  position 
to  open  on  the  town  or  command  the  hills  beyond.  It  was  re 
ported  in  camp  that  two  Confederate  gunboats  came  up  the  river 
to  the  city  early  in  the  morning,  but  had  shortly  after  steamed  away 
again. 

There  was  a  cold  rain  storm  on  the  20th  and  2ist,  during 
which  time  nothing  was  done,  and  the  men  kept  close  to  the  r 
quarters  and  camp  fires,  for  such  warmth  and  comfort  as  could  be 
obtained.  On  the  22nd,  General  McDowell  passed  through  camp 
with  a  squad  of  cavalry  and  a  limber  from  one  of  the  guns,  and 
went  below  in  search  of  a  fording  place,  a  foolish  proceeding  in 
the  estimation  of  the  men,  as  the  river  was  running  full  from  bank 
to  bank.  The  camp  fires  of  the  enemy  were  distinctly  seen  across 


CAPTURE  OF  FREDERICKSBURG.  37 

the  river.  At  this  time  the  sick  of  the  battery  were  treated  by  the 
23rd  New  York's  surgeons.  About  the  23rd  of  April,  squads 
of  Union  troops  passed  over  to  the  city  every  day.  They  were 
kindly  treated  by  the  citizens,  who  were  eager  to  get  North 
ern  gold  and  silver,  but  refused  to  touch  "Lincoln's"  paper 
money,  even  refusing  the  U.  S.  Treasury  notes,  preferring  their 
twenty-five  cent  paper. 

On  the  25th  steamers,  loaded  with  provisions,  came  up  the 
river.  They  had  thirty  canal  boats  in  tow,  on  which  it  was  intended 
to  build  false  works  to  lay  the  railroad  track  at  the  bridge.  A  pon 
toon  train  also  came  up  with  them.  On  the  26th  the  cavalry  cap 
tured  seven  Confederate  cavalrymen,  among  them  a  colonel.  One 
of  them  was  recognized  as  a  person  who  had  been  through 
McDowell's  camps  dressed  in  citizen's  attire. 

Stores  and  supplies  were  hauled  by  the  wagons  from  Belle  Plain. 
On  the  5th  of  May  the  battery  was  moved  down  to  the  bank  of  the 
river,  near  General  McDowell's  headquarters  at  the  Lacey  House, 
to  guard  the  pontoon  bridge  that  had  just  been  thrown  across 
the  river.  The  camp  ground  was  a  very  fine  one— in  one  of  Major 
Lacey' s  large  clover  fields.  A  cavalry  regiment  was  encamped  on 
the  hills  back  of  Fredericksburg,  and  two  companies  of  infantry 
patroled  the  city. 

One  newspaper,  the  Christian  Banner,  printed  by  James  W. 
Hunnicutt,  on  common  brown  wrapping  paper,  survived  the  capture 
of  Fredericksburg.  It  stated  that  the  Confederate  army  left  the 
town  on  the  i8th  of  April,  and  that  in  a  hurry,  leaving  the  people 
to  endure  any  fate  that  might  befall  them.  A  number  of  vessels 
lying  in  the  river — all  private  property — were  burned  by  the  soldiers 
before  leaving. 

On  May  9th,  the  Banner  contained  the  following  editorial  : 
"Why  is  it  that  men  will  suffer  passion  and  prejudice  to  dethrone  reason? 
Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  our  present  deplorable  condition.  Our  generals 
and  army  have  left  us  to  the  mercy  of  chance  ;  Congress  has  broken  up  in  a 
state  of  terrified  confusion  and  have  gone  to  seek  their  safety  far  from  the  seat 
of  war,  on  their  cotton,  sugar  and  rice  plantations  ;  the  citizens  of  Richmond 
have  become  panic  stricken  and  are  leaving  ;  the  authorities  are  making  pre 
parations  to  burn  the  tobacco  and  public  stores  of  the  army,  that  cannot  and 
have  not  been  sent  away.  These  are  facts,  we  presume,  that  are  questioned 
by  no  one. 

"Why  is  it,  that  at  this  important  crisis,  when  the  lives  of  our  dear  sons 
and  so  many  of  our  fellow-citizens  are  trembling  on  the  very  brink  of  eternity, 
that  the  very  men,  the  leaders  in  this  woeful  tragedy,  fly  from  the  advancing 
enemy?  Why  do  they  not  stand  and  face  the  danger?  Because,  conscience 


38  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

has  made  cowards  of  them.  They  feel  the  guilt,  they  dread  the  penalty,  and 
fly  to  save  their  own  worthless  carcasses  from  being  captured  ;  and  yet  our  dear 
children,  neighbors  and  friends  must  stay  and  fight,  and  die  to  protect  the  per 
sons  and  property  of  the  guilty  leaders,  who  have  fired  up  the  Southern  heart, 
and  inveigled  them  into  ruin.  Are  parents  willing  to  see  their  own  dear  chil 
dren  butchered  and  slaughtered  like  wild  beasts,  to  gratify  the  unhallowed 
ambition  of  cowards,  tyrants  and  traitors?  Can  freemen  submit  to  such  an 
outrage  ?  No.  Then,  let  us  demand  our  children — let  us  call  them  home, 
and  let  Jeff.  Davis  and  his  click  go  to  the  devil,  where  they  ought  to  have  been 
long  ago." 

The  £ti/i/tervfiis  a  hundred  times  stronger  for  the  Union  than 
most  of  the  Breckinridge  papers  of  the  North.  It  had  experienced 
some  fruits  of  secession,  and  denounced  its  leaders  as  "traitors, 
madmen  and  fools,  who  ought  to  be  damned  !" 

Upon  the  subject  of  the  removal  of  the  Confederate  capital 
from  Richmond,  the  Richmond  Whig,  of  April  22,  was  equally 
caustic  : 

"  For  fear  of  accidents  on  the  railroad  the  stampeded  Congress  left  yester 
day  in  a  number  of  the  strongest  and  newest  canal  boats.  These  boats  are 
drawn  by  mules  of  approved  sweetness  of  temper.  To  protect  the  stampeders 
from  the  snakes  and  bullfrogs  that  abound  along  the  line  of  the  canal,  General 
Winder  has  detailed  a  regiment  of  ladies  to  march  in  advance  of  the  mules  and 
clear  the  towpath  of  the  pirates.  The  regiment  is  armed  with  popguns  of  the 
longest  range.  The  ladies  will  accompany  the  stampeders  to  a  secluded  cave 
in  the  mountains  of  Hepsidam,  and  leave  them  there  in  charge  of  the  children 
of  the  vicinage,  until  McClellan  thinks  proper  to  let  them  come  forth.  The 
ladies  will  return  to  the  defense  of  their  country." 

The  battery  remained  encamped  at  Fredericksburg  for  some 
weeks,  having  nothing  to  do  but  drill  and  write  letters.  Some  of 
them  found  place  in  the  local  papers  at  home.  Among  them  was 
a  characteristic  one  from  Sergeant  William  P.  Andrews  to  his  sister, 
which  was  published  in  the  Bucks  County  Intelligencer,  and  con 
tained  the  following  : 

''There  goes  our  little  banty-legged  doctor.  He  is  a  woeful  rider;  he 
bounces  up  and  down  like  an  Indian  rubber  ball  on  the  saddle.  He  would 
have  his  feet  clear  through  the  stirrups,  if  his  enormous  spurs  did  not  keep 
them  to  their  place.  Jalap  and  rhubarb  have  been  his  favorite  doses.  He  has 
now  improved  on  them  by  the  addition  of  large  quantities  of  castor  oil.  He  is 
a  regular  working  doctor  of  the  old  style.  I  have  had  a  cold  in  my  head  for 
the  last  three  or  four  days,  I  guess,  by  having  the  windows  of  the  wagon  open. 
He  prescribed  a  dose  of  his  favorite  truck.  I  preferred  carrying  it  in  my  pocket. 
1  think  I  have  improved  by  this  mode  of  taking  it.  The  only  inconvenience  I 
experience  is  that  my  nose  is  skinless.  Whether  the  medicine  or  incessant 
wiping  my  nose  produced  it,  I  have  not  had  time  to  inquire. 

41 1  wish  you  could  see  my  country  residence,  that  I  occupy  during  the 
day.  The  roof  is  made  of  the  night-gowns  worn  by  our  own  horses  during  the 


CAPTURE  OF  FREDERICKSBURG.  39 

winter.  They  are  not  altogether  white,  but  remarkably  fragrant ;  especially  on 
a  damp,  warm  day,  the  'dissent,'  as  your  neighbor  phrases  it,  is  stunning. 
The  walls  are  composed  of  old  oat  bags  nailed  to  a  wooden  frame.  Being  of 
a  sieve-like  texture,  they  answer  the  purpose  of  letting  in  all  the  heat,  sun  and 
wind  that  comes  along.  The  front  prop  runs  far  above  the  ridge  of  the  roof, 
and  is  decorated  with  a  newspaper  flag.  The  whole  concern  is  so  neat,  that  a 
peddler  stuck  his  head  in  the  other  day  and  asked  if  it  was  a  hospital  tent.  1 
suppose  the  hartshorne  caused  the  mistake.  Everything  shows  that  we  live  luxu 
riantly.  My  table  is  decorated  with  a  paper  of  sugar,  an  old  broken  inkstand, 
pens,  pipes,  matches,  and  last,  though  by  no  means  least,  a  piece  of  old  corn 
cake,  baked  in  John  Rice's  improved  style,  with  eggs  and  a  little  sugar  in,  just 
enough  to  taste.  Only  think,  corn  cake  and  fried  beans  for  dinner  !  We  draw 
fresh  beef  three  times  a  week,  but  experience  great  trouble  in  keeping  the 
animal  dead.  It  will  generally  get  alive  in  spite  of  us.  We  had  some  of  that 
same  kind  this  morning  for  breakfast.  The  animile  only  died  yesterday,  and 
this  morning,  after  a  number  of  hours'  boiling,  he  was  almost  able  to  run.  The 
best  stand-by  is  old  'hog  and  hominy.'  I  believe  you  are  fond  of  mush.  I 
give  you  a  cordial  invitation  to  come  down  and  take  supper  with  us  ;  we  will 
have  a  little  mush  and  molasses. 

"The  hills  on  the  side  of  the  river  are  now  alive  with  men.  They  look 
like  so  many  ants  running  out  of  their  tents.  At  night  the  camp  fires  are 
beautiful.  The  hills  appear  to  be  covered  with  balls  of  fire,  ranged  in 
regular  order  of  the  company  streets.  The  brigades  on  the  summits  of  the  hills 
have  every  appearance  of  a  large  city  with  street  lamps  all  lighted  and  burning 
brightly.  It  is  really  a  very  beautiful  and  grand  sight,  and  presents  quite  a 
contrast  to  the  town,  where  we  can  scarcely  see  a  light  except  in  the  little 
shelter  tents  of  the  guards  along  the  river.  You  would  think,  if  you  resided 
on  this  side  of  the  Rappahannock,  that  nobody  dwelt  in  the  town,  and  that  it 
really  was  a  city  of  the  dead.  The  only  sounds  we  hear  from  them  is  the  beat 
of  the  guard-house  drum,  and  the  interminable  howling  of  the  dogs. 

"  Were  you  ever  pestered  with  ticks  ?  I  hope  you  will  never  have  to  make 
their  acquaintance.  I  have  never  yet  concluded  which  I  prefer,  them  or  fleas. 
The  fleas  manage  to  get  away  from  you,  whilst  the  ticks  generally  leave  a  head 
in  your  hide,  which  produces  rather  sore  boils.  This  is  the  darkest  country  in 
existence  when  it  rains.  To-night  is  intensely  dark  ;  the  guards  will  experi 
ence  great  trouble  in  catching  the  loose  horses,  for  the  brutes  generally  choose 
that  sort  of  a  night  for  their  ramblings.  The  bugs  are  very  troublesome,  get 
ting  into  my  eyes  and  running  all  over  my  paper. 

"The  quartermaster  and  I  are  having  a  little  'sore-eye'  in  our  horse- 
scented  house.  The  refreshments  consist  of  lemonade  and  hard  crackers. 
The  lemonade  is  very  refreshing  ;  the  hard-tack  not  so  palatable.  I  should 
greatly  prefer  a  little  sponge  cake  or  some  of  Hetty's  ginger  snaps. 

"As  an  instance  of  the  bitterness  of  feeling  against  the  Northern  troops  in 
this  locality,  I  will  mention  the  case  of  a  widow  lady  in  the  town.  She  owns  a 
great  number  of  houses  and  depends  on  her  rent  for  support.  She  says  that, 
although  the  loss  would  be  severe  on  her,  she  would  rather  have  seen  every 
house,  and  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  town  burnt  to  ashes,  than  to  see  a 
Yankee  soldier  quartered  in  the  place.  She  is  what  I  call  a  tough  old  sinner, 
and  needs  a  little  'tending  to.  Though  I  reckon  if  a  Yankee  would  ask  her  to 
join  the  Union  with  him,  she  might  accede  ;  but  no  doubt  she  would  scotch  up 
her  heels  a  little  before  the  peace  could  be  ratified." 


4o  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  middle  of  May  came  in  very  warm,  as  though  summer 
had  made  its  appearance  with  a  bound.  The  soldiers  found  their 
canvass  tents  oppressive,  and  the  river  was  soon  a  common  resort 
for  bathing  in  the  evenings.  Some  of  the  boys  swam  across  to 
Fredericksburg  A  force  of  men  was  put  to  work  at  rebuilding  the 
burned  railroad  bridge,  and  on  the  ipth  of  May  a  locomotive 
passed  over  it  and  returned  from  the  city  with  a  train  of  cars  that 
had  been  in  use  by  the  Confederates  but  a  short  time  previous. 
In  the  evening  the  bridge  was  illuminated,  and  a  train  of  cars 
passed  over  it  with  a  brass  band  on  board.  After  the  completion 
of  the  railroad  bridge  the  pontoon  bridge  that  had  been  spanning 
the  river  immediately  in  front  of  the  battery,  was  removed  to  Fal- 
mouth,  and  thrown  across  the  stream  from  that  point.  General 
Shields'  Division  left  suddenly  for  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  General 
Augur's  Brigade  of  King's  Division  crossed  the  river  and  marched 
to  a  point  seven  miles  below  Fredericksburg.  The  First  Brigade 
of  McCalPs  Pennsylvania  Reserves  also  marched  through  the  city 
and  down  the  river,  and  DurelPs  Battery  crossed  over  the  river  and 
parked  its  guns  upon  an  open  lot  in  the  city.  This  was  a  treat  for 
the  boys,  many  of  whom  took  every  opportunity  to  saunter  through 
the  streets. 

On  May  23rd,  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  accom 
panied  by  other  dignitaries,  arrived  from  Washington  to  review  the 
troops  of  McDowell's  command.  The  railroad  accommodations 
were  not  very  good  from  Aquia  Creek,  and  it  was  said  that  "  Uncle 
Abraham  ' '  rode  in  an  old  freight  car.  The  President  was  a  queer 
figure  on  horseback,  his  long  legs  reaching  well  toward  the  ground. 
He  rode  with  hat  in  hand  in  front  of  the  troops  in  a  boiling  sun, 
and  was  greeted  with  cheer  after  cheer  from  the  soldiers. 

About  this  time,  Lieutenant  Gries,  who  had  not  been  in  good 
health  for  about  two  months,  thought  seriously  of  leaving  the  bat 
tery  for  home.  Christopher  Leoser,  of  Reading,  Pa.,  who  had 
been  in  the  three  month's  service  as  a  captain  in  the  New  York 
Fire  Zouaves,  paid  a  visit  to  its  officers,  with  whom  he  was  well 
acquainted.  One  evening  after  his  arrival,  the  captain  called  the 
men  together  and  stated  that,  as  the  battery  was  short  one  com 
missioned  officer,  he  would  like  to  have  the  vacancy  filled  by 
Christopher  Leoser,  and  put  the  question  to  vote.  Leoser  was 
chosen  by  a  majority  of  three  or  four  votes,  nearly  all  of  the  Berks 
County  men  voting  for  him,  while  the  Bucks  Countians,  as  well  as 
a  number  from  the  other  counties  represented  in  the  battery,  voted 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 


CAI'TURK  OF  FREDERICKSBURG.  41 

against  him.  The  men  composing  the  Bucks  County  portion  of  the 
battery  were  dissatisfied  that  they  were  not  given  representation 
on  the  staff  of  commissioned  officers  by  the  election  or  appoint 
ment  of  one  of  their  number,  and  that  a  new  man  had  been 
brought  to  the  battery  and  given  the  commission.  The  matter 
caused  ill  feeling  that  did  not  disappear  for  many  months  after 
ward.  Lieutenant  Leoser,  however,  proved  to  be  a  capable  and 
fearless  officer,  finally  winning  the  respect  and  admiration  of  almost 
the  entire  command. 

At  this  time,  also,  there  was  a  marked  improvement  in  the 
medical  service  rendered  to  the  sick  of  the  battery,  which  had 
heretofore  been  very  inefficient.  A  surgeon  from  one  of  the  regi 
ments  of  the  brigade  or  division  to  which  the  battery  was  attached 
would  occasionally  pay  a  professional  visit  to  the  sick,  but  much 
more  frequently  the  sick  were  obliged  to  seek  the  surgeon  for  con 
sultation.  They  were  now  turned  over  to  the  care  of  Dr.  Peters, 
of  the  2ist  New  York,  who  paid  the  battery  professional  visits 
twice  a  day. 

The  weather  was  now  becoming  warmer,  and  active  service 
was  anticipated  by  the  officers.  Captain  Durell  issued  an  order 
commanding  the  men  to  dispose  of  all  superfluous  clothing  and 
blankets,  and  retain  none  which  the  Government  had  not  pre 
scribed  for  them.  In  conformity  with  this  order  the  men  packed 
their  extra  blankets,  clothing  and  such  other  needless  articles  which 
would  be  cumbersome  on  the  march  of  an  active  campaign,  into 
boxes  and  sent  them  to  their  homes  by  express.  A  reduction  was 
also  made  in  the  number  of  tents  and  other  camp  equipage,  and  two 
baggage  wagons  were  added  to  the  number  in  the  service  of  the 
battery  for  the  transportation  of  an  extra  supply  of  forage  for  the 
horses.  At  every  hand  there  were  indications  of  an  important 
movement  about  to  be  made  from  this  point. 


42  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PURSUING   ''STONEWALL"   JACKSON. 

JUST  as  McDowell's  command  was  about  to  move  forward  to 
join  McClellan's  forces  on  the  Peninsula,.  ''Stonewall" 

Jackson  was  found  to  be  rapidly  moving  up  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  driving  before  him  the  small  bodies  of  Union  troops  scat 
tered  here  and  there,  and  causing  much  anxiety  at  Washington. 
McDowell  was  therefore  ordered  to  postpone  the  proposed  move 
ment  to  the  Peninsula,  and  march  a  portion  of  his  force  rapidly  to 
the  Shenandoah  Valley  to  intercept  Jacl|son  before  he  could  return 
to  the  protection  of  the  Confederate  army. 

Ln  compliance  with  this  order  the  battery  left  Fredericksburg 
with  its  division  on  May  29th,  marching  rapidly  toward  Thorough 
fare  Gap.  The  first  night's  encampment  was  made  in  a  wheat 
field.  When  the  troops  moved  out  of  it  the  next  morning,  the 
wheat  looked  as  though  a  hurricane  had  passed  through  it.  The 
whole  of  Augur's  Brigade  had  encamped  on  it,  wagons  and  all. 
Nothing  of  any  moment  transpired  along  the  route  until  about  10 
o'clock,  when  a  heavy  rain  began  to  fall,  and  continued  during  the 
day.  The  day's  march  was  ended  by  encamping  within  four  miles 
of  Catlett.  The  next  day  the  battery  marched  to  the  station, 
where  the  infantry  took  the  cars  for  Manassas,  from  whence  they 
were  to  be  transported  by  rail  to  White  Plains,  the  artillery  march 
ing  across  the  country  for  the  same  point.  The  artillery  and  bag 
gage-wagon  trains  accompanied  by  the  Harris  Light  Cavalry, 
Colonel  Judson  Kilpatrick,  commanding,  did  not  move  until  the 
morning  of  June  ist.  The  march  was  over  bad  roads  and  through 
a  deserted  country  for  some  distance  until  the  woods  were  reached, 
where  the  roads  were  better.  The  corduroy  road  from  Centre- 
ville  to  Manassas  which  the  battery  marched  over  in  April,  was  in 
good  condition  in  comparison  with  this.  Few  houses  were  to  be 
seen  and  nearly  all  of  those  were  deserted.  About  four  miles  from 
Catlett,  a  dwelling  set  back  from  the  road,  was  discovered.  The 
fields  surrounding  it  were  plowed  and  the  corn  just  sprouting  above 
the  ground.  The  stables  were  almost  a  wreck  and  the  tools  scat 
tered  in  every  direction  around  the  grounds.  The  garden  was  in 


PURSUING  "STONEWALL"   JACKSON.  43 

fine  condition.  A  general  rush  was  made  for  the  premises  by  the 
cannoneers  in  search  for  water.  The  men  soon  despoiled  the  gar 
den  of  all  the  onions  and  ripe  strawberries  it  could  boast  of.  The 
house  was  entirely  deserted.  From  appearances  the  occupants  had 
fled  in  great  haste.  All  that  was  left  in  the  house  was  an  old  bed 
stead,  a  piece  of  carpet  and  a  bag  of  meal.  It  was  a  picture  of  deso 
lation,  and  the  whole  place  bore  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  ravages 
of  war.  The  battery  was  halted  here  for  a  long  time,  watering  the 
horses,  after  which  it  moved  on.  About  noon  a  halt  of  over  an 
hour  was  made,  waiting  for  the  baggage  train  to  come  up.  Some 
of  the  boys  wandered  into  a  house  inhabited  by  a  lot  of  crippled 
and  old  women,  who  were  anxious  to  sell  their  cakes,  and  the  men 
were  just  as  eager  to  buy.  One  woman  said  she  had  never  seen 
the  cars,  although  she  lived  within  three  miles  of  the  railroad.  On 
the  route  was  the  splendid  property  of  an  Englishman  named 
Green.  His  buildings  and  grounds  were  magnificent,  and  he  had 
built  a  very  pretty  Episcopal  chapel  on  his  estate.  All  over  the 
premises  were  posters  marked  "  British  Property  under  Safeguard. " 
He  was  a  cotton  broker  of  Savannah,  and  this  was  his  summer  and 
country  residence.  His  sympathies  were  strongly  with  the  South ,  his 
wife  being  a  Southron,  and  when  young,  it  was  said,  a  very  handsome 
woman.  While  encamped  at  Bristoe,  only  five  miles  distant,  a 
party  of  foragers  from  the  battery  visited  this  plantation  seeking  for 
corn.  The  second  time  they  called  they  were  entertained  quite 
handsomely.  Along  this  whole  property  the  road  was  turnpiked 
— after  a  fashion.  Enormous  stones,  rocks  they  might  be  called, 
were  set  in  the  road  end  up  There  was  very  little  earth,  over 
them  and  quite  a  number  of  holes  here  and  there.  It  was  the 
most  trying  piece  of  road  on  the  carriage  stock  that  the  battery  had 
experienced  up  to  that  time. 

On  the  morning  of  June  2d,  the  march  was  resumed  to 
Thoroughfare  Gap.  Here  the  railroad  runs  through  the  Bull  Run 
Mountain,  which  could  be  plainly  seen  from  the  starting  point  at 
Haymarket,  four  miles  distant,  resembling  the  big  hills  in  Rock- 
hill  Township,  Bucks  County,  Pa.  Here  trouble  was  anticipated 
from  the  gueiillas,  as  the  hills  abounded  in  good  perches  from  which 
they  could  operate.  If  there  were  any  in  the  vicinity  they  did  not 
make  their  presence  known.  Passing  through  the  Gap,  the  bat 
tery  parked  on  the  western  side  of  the  mountain  with  orders  to 
unhitch  the  horses,  but  to  keep  the  harness  on  them.  It  was  the 
same  ground  upon  which  the  io4th  New  York  had  been  encamped. 


44  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

On  Jackson's  approach  with  a  superior  force,  they  had  been  com 
pelled  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  firing  much  of  their  camp  equipage 
rather  than  abandon  it  to  the  enemy.  In  a  house  located  near 
this  camp  lived  an  old  Bucks  Countian  by  the  name  of  Stover,  who 
came  from  the  vicinity  of  Point  Pleasant. 

In  the  afternoon  the  infantry  of  the  division  returned  from 
Front  Royal.  Jackson  had  succeeded  in  making  his  raid  down 
the  valley,  returning  again  to  a  point  within  communication  with 
the  main  portion  of  the  Confederate  army,  thus  avoiding  the  trap 
set  for  him.  The  battery  was  ordered  to  countermarch,  and  that 
night  it  encamped  at  Haymarket,  a  small  village  of  half  a  dozen 
houses  and  huts,  and  a  large  brick  church.  The  men  were  very 
hungry  and  highly  enjoyed  their  supper  of  coffee,  corn-beef  and 
' '  hard-tack. ' ' 

The  battery  remained  at  Haymarket  several  days,  during  the 
continuance  of  a  heavy  rain  storm.  'Tis  an  ill  wind  that  blows  no 
good.  The  good  in  this  instance  was  reaped  by  the  woman 
who  lived  in  a  house  close  to  the  camp,  where  the  men  bought 
cakes.  She  and  two  negresses  were  kept  busy  baking  cakes  from 
morning  until  night.  She  would  bake  up  all  the  flour  she  had  and 
send  for  more.  She  furnished  ham  and  eggs  at  a  very  mo  ierate 
price.  One  fat  old  negress  said  that  she  had  worked  over  the 
dough-trough  so  hard  that  ' '  the  sweat  had  rolled  off  her. ' ' 

The  morning  of  June  6th  was  clear  when  the  march  was  again 
taken  up  to  Gainesville,  and  from  that  point  on  the  Warrenton  pike, 
a  very  smooth  road,  through  New  Market  and  New  Baltimore,  to 
within  a  mile  of  Warrenton,  where  the  battery  encamped  in  a  beau 
tiful  field,  on  the  farm  of  an  old  Confederate,  who  had  left  it  and 
gone  farther  south.  It  was  pretty  well  stocked  with  sheep,  hogs, 
cattle,  etc.,  upon  which  the  soldiers  foraged  to  such  an  extent  that 
but  few  remained  when  the  troops  left  that  vicinity.  Sunday  morn 
ing  brought  with  it  the  usual  battery  inspection,  afterwhich  the  men, 
who  were  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  passes,  went  out  to  Warren- 
ton  to  attend  religious  services  in  the  only  church  of  the  town,  and 
to  visit  the  points  of  interest  The  marc'h  was  again  resumed  on 
the  8th,  passing  through  Warrenton,  which  was  a  very  fair  town 
for  that  section  of  Virginia.  A  number  of  its  women  appeared  at 
the  front  doors  and  windows  to  see  the  troops  as  they  passed,  but 
they  wore  sour  and  defiant  countenances. 

For  some  distance  the  line  of  march  was  made  along  the  rail 
road.  The  cars  had  not  run  into  Warrenton  for  many  months, 


PURSUING  "STONEWALL"  JACKSON.  45 

and  every  bridge  had  been  destroyed.  After  leaving  the  railroad 
the  route  led  through  swampy  woods,  which  was  hard  work  for  the 
horses.  Occasionally  a  gun-carriage  or  caisson  would  stick  in  the 
mud  up  to  the  axles,  from  which  six  horses  would  be  unable  to  pull 
it  out.  The  cannoneers  would  be  obliged  to  step  into  mud,  in  some 
cases,  knee  deep,  and  literally  put  "  their  shoulders  to  the  wheels," 
to  help  the  poor  animals  out  of  the  mire  with  their  load.  This 
was  as  difficult  a  piece  of  road  as  any  the  battery  had  hitherto 
marched.  It  camped  until  the  next  day  at  Warrenton  Junction,  but 
the  supply  wagons  not  coming  up  until  late  in  the  night,  the  boys 
were  obliged  to  sup  without  their  favorite  tin  cup  of  coffee. 
Early  the  next  morning,  a  march  of  about  five  miles  was  made  to 
Elk  Run,  where  the  battery  rested,  awaiting  orders.  General 
Gibbon's  Brigade,  with  Regular  Battery  B,  passed  on  to  Fredericks- 
burg.  This  was  a  pretty  good  country  for  cherries  which  were  then 
ripe,  so  the  boys  had  a  good  treat,  gathering  and  eating  them.  On 
the  evening  of  the  nth  of  June  the  first  rations  of  whiskey  and 
quinine  were  issued  to  the  battery,  which  were  eagerly  received  by 
those  who  had  formed  the  liquor  habit,  but  refused  by  a  number  of 
others  who  either  never  tasted  or  very  seldom  partook  of  spiritu 
ous  liquors.  On  this  day,  also,  was  issued  the  first  rations  of  soft 
bread  since  leaving  Alexandria  on  the  4th  of  April.  It  was  a 
toothsome  treat  after  so  long  a  diet  of  "  hard-tack."  One  loaf 
per  day  was  the  ration  for  each  man,  but  some  of  the  boys  finished 
up  a  loaf  at  a  single  meal. 

On  the  1 6th  another  move  was  made,  this  time  to  a  point 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  distant,  where  the  battery  parked  in  a 
pine  woods.  After  considerable  labor  in  clearing  away  the  burned 
brush,  a  comfortable  and  pleasant  camp  was  made  among  the 
shady  pines  for  man  and  beast.  Augur's  and  Gibbon's  Brigades, 
with  the  Regular  and  New  Hampshire  Batteries,  had  moved  for 
ward  toward  Fredericksburg,  while  the  Rhode  Island  and  DurelPs 
Batteries  were  left  here  with  Patrick's  Brigade.  On  the  2ist  the 
brigade  left  and  marched  to  a  point  ten  miles  nearer  Fredericks- 
burg,  where  the  battery  joined  it  the  next  day.  On  the  24th  the 
march  was  again  taken  up,  and  continued  to  Fredericksburg,  the 
camp  being  established  near  a  former  camp-ground  at  the  Lacey 
House,  directly  opposite  the  city.  Here  the  battery  received 
thirteen  new  horses  and  five  marquees,  or  wall  tents.  The  men 
were  put  to  work  at  cleaning  the  harness,  washing  the  gun  carriages, 
and  bringing  cedar  boughs  from  the  woods,  of  which  arbors  were 


46  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

built  over  the  tents  to  provide  shady  quarters.  Each  gun  detach 
ment  also  received  a  large  tarpaulin,  which,  with  the  small  tents 
already  on  hand,  furnished  commodious  quarters. 

On  the  2yth  a  squad  of  eighteen  men  was  received  from 
General  C.  C.  Augur's  Brigade  and  attached  to  the  battery  to  fill 
its  ranks  to  the  required  number.  They  were  as  follows  :  Samuel 
O.  Allen,  Jacob  J.  Amidon,  William  Beck,  Israel  O.  Beagle,  Or- 
natus  D.  Bump,  William  H.  Brown,  James  H.  Burnett,  Benjamin 
F.  Edwards,  Alfred  B.  Hicks,  Henry  B.  Ives,  Samuel  C.  Knox, 
Henry  C.  Leigh,  Charles  N.  Mance,  John  Chesney  and  Nathan 
Thomas,  of  the  2jrd  New  York  ;  and  John  B.  Jones  and  Charles 
W.  McCreary,  of  the  2oth  New  York  ;  and  James  Buchanan  of  the 
35th  New  York  Regiment.  The  artillery  uniform  was  issued  to  the 
new  men,  and  blouses  and  shoes  to  all. 

Lieutenant  Campbell  of  Battery  B,  4th  Regulars,  having  been 
made  chief  of  artillery  of  the  division,  in  place  of  Captain  John 
Gibbon,  who  was  promoted  to  a  brigadier  general  of  volunteers 
and  placed  in  command  of  the  Iron  Brigade,  paid  especial  atten 
tion  to  the  training  of  DurelPs  Battery,  taking  it  in  hand  daily  for 
some  time  when  out  on  field  drill,  and  put  it  through  a  lively  move 
ment  of  all  the  evolutions  contained  in  the  artillery  tactics.  The 
hard  and  continuous  drilling  received  at  this  time,  stood  the  bat 
tery  in  good  stead  in  the  battles  which  followed  a  month  or  two 
later. 


CAMP  LIFE  AT  FREDERICKSBURG.  47 

CHAPTER  VI. 
CAMP  LIFE  AT  FREDERICKSBURG. 

THE    battery    remained    at    Fredericksburg    throughout    the 
month   of  July,  nothing  of  any  importance  transpiring  to 
break   the  weary  monotony  of  camp-life,  except   the   field 
drills  and  an  occasional  night  scout  into  the  country  below  the  city. 
Orderly  Sergeant  William    P.  Andrews,  at  this  time  made  a  daily 
record   of   events,   some   of  which  were   published  in   the  Bucks 
County  Intelligencer.      The  following  is  taken  from  his  journal  : 

July  4th  — "  All  exercises  of  the  day  were  laid  aside  except  the  regular 
guard  and  polic3  duties  of  the  camp,  and  the  men  permitted  to  enjoy  themselves 
as  best  they  could,  but  to  keep  within  the  bounds  of  soldierly  decorum.  Num 
bers  of  the  men  went  over  to  the  town,  others  to  Falmouth,  and  a  few  visited  their 
comrades  in  the  neighboring  regiments.  General  Patrick's  Brigade  had  a  reg 
ular  Fourth  of  July  celebration.  'Aunt  Betsy'  (Captain  Monroe),  went  up  to 
the  bluffs  to  make  a  noise  for  them.  Generals  King  and  Patrick  feasted  the 
imaginations  of  the  men  with  spread-eagle  addresses.  King  was  vociferously 
cheered  ;  General  Patrick  not  cpaite  so  much.  The  Olympic  games  were  resus 
citated  by  the  introduction  of  the  popular  games  of  climbing  the  greased  pole, 
chasing  the  greased  pig,  and  the  symmetrical  proportions  of  the  sack  race. 

"  At  meridian,  General  Doubleday's  Battery,  which  was  quartered  on  the 
hill  where  we  first  encamped  on  our  previous  occupation  of  the  place,  fired  eighty- 
six  guns.  After  dinner,  General  Gibbon's  men  prepared  for  a  grand  mule, 
horse,  and  foot  race.  The  performances  began  at  2  o'clock.  The  mule  race 
was  a  most  ludicrous  affair.  There  were  some  twenty  mules  entered.  The 
band  would  play  an  air,  when  all  must  go.  At  the  first  start,  before  the 
riders  had  gone  twenty  paces,  a  dozen  men  were  seen  flying  through  the  air, 
heels  foremost.  Over  some  of  them  the  mules  would  run,  and  caper  about  as 
if  tantalizing  them.  Others  would  bolt  through  the  centre  of  the  ring,  making  the 
horsemen  and  horsewomen  (for  there  were  some  of  the  latter  present)  skedaddle. 
Others  would  keep  the  course  until  they  reached  a  point  where  the  road  they 
were  accustomed  to  travel  passed  through  the  fields  ;  all  efforts  of  the  riders 
could  not  restrain  the  brutes  from  bolting  up  the  road,  scattering  the  spectators 
like  chaff.  During  the  last  heat,  one  fellow  was  thrown,  and  before  he  reached 
the  ground  the  mule  kicked  him  heels  over  head.  Another  fellow  was  making 
fine  headway,  when  the  mule  sent  him  flying  to  the  ground,  headforemost,  with 
such  impetus  that  he  spun  around,  coming  upon  one  side  and  then  on  the  other, 
with  both  hands  full  of  dirt  and  grass.  The  race  was  rich,  and  no  one  hurt.  The 
horse-race  was  confined  to  the  officers.  Our  adjutant  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Kilpatrick,  of  the  Harris  Light  Cavalry,  were  the  competitors  for  the  purse. 
Our  adjutant  beat  him.  One  of  our  teamsters  took  one  of  his  mules  down,  but 


48  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

nobody  would  run  against  him — he  could  outrun  the  whole  pack,  and  they  were 
all  afraid  of  him.  After  the  fixed  fun  was  over,  there  was  a  general  racing  oi 
horses — every  one  going  in.  This  ended  by  the  killing  of  two  horses. 

"The  regulars  fired  a  salute  of  thirty-four  guns  at  retreat.  General  Gib 
bon's  Brigade  had  their  own  sport  in  the  morning,  everything  being  done  in  an 
inversed  order.  At  the  morning  dress  parade,  the  officers,  both  commissioned 
and  non-commissioned,  taking  their  places  in  the  ranks  as  privates,  and  the 
better  drilled  privates  acting  in  their  posts.  The  field  and  staff  were  also  chosen 
from  the  ranks,  the  colonel  taking  a  rifle  and  falling  into  the  ranks.  The 
affair  was  well  managed  and  passed  off  with  great  eclat.  The  adjutant  bawled 
out  his  'attention  to  orders,'  and  read  an  order  to  the  effect  that  the  officers 
must  police  the  camp.  It  was  very  amusing  to  see  the  colonels  and  other  big 
shoulder  straps  picking  up  old  bones  and  trash,  and  removing  them  to  the  gen 
eral  place  of  deposit,  the  privates  bossing  them  around. 

"In  the  evening,  General  King  arranged  matters  for  our  admiration  and 
'the  general  manifestation  of  his  glorification,'  etc.,  by  an  exhibition  of  fire 
works  that  equalled  anything  of  the  kind  witnessed  in  the  cities.  The  heavens 
were  ablaze  with  rockets  throughout  the  whole  evening,  their  magnificence 
being  embellished  with  the  fiery  balls  of  Roman  candles,  fire  wheels,  colored 
lights,  etc.  From  the  manner  in  which  the  burning  sticks  landed  in  the  sacred 
town  of  modest  females,  they  must  have  thought  the  Yankees  had  invited  old 
Tophet  down  to  see  them,  and  he  had  accepted  the  invitation.  General  King 
addressed  the  motley  assemblage,  and  General  Gibbons  made  his  maiden  speech, 
commencing  with  'You  would  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age,'  etc. 

"But  the  Fourth  was  the  prelude  to  hard  work  the  next  day,  when  the 
battery  had  the  longest  and  strongest  field  drill  it  had  as  yet  received.  Captain 
Durell  ran  the  machine,  and  he  did  run  it  hard.  The  main  incident  of  the 
morning  was  the  capture  of  some  guerillas  a  few  miles  below  Fredericksburg. 
They  were  armed  with  shot  guns,  making  a  good  resistance  before  the  cavalry 
captured  them.  They  lost  two  of  their  number  during  the  struggle.  In  the 
afternoon,  the  paymaster  called  and  gave  the  men  four  months'  pay. 

July  ijf/i. — "What  an  intolerable  nuisance  'red  tape'  is,  although  it  is  a 
very  important  feature  in  the  business  of  soldiering.  The  war  offices  are  regu 
lar  'circumlocution  offices,'  and  their  great  aim  seems  to  be  'how  not  to  do  it.' 
An  instance  of  this  was  seen  in  the  disposition  of  the  dead  body  of  one  of  our 
men  who  died  on  the  9th  inst.,  at  the  hospital,  and  was  interred  before  we  had 
any  intimation  of  his  decease.  On  inquiry  made  at  the  office,  no  satisfaction 
could  be  obtained,  as  all  matter  in  reference  thereto  had  been  sent  to  the  sur 
geon-general's  office,  and  possibly  the  note  to  the  captain  had  gone  with  it. 
To-day's  mail  brought  the  note  intended  for  us  from  the  said  surgeon-general. 
Even  to  obtain  a  few  blanks,  the  requisition  must  pass  through  half  a  dozen 
hands,  and  even  then  the  issuing  officers  will  stick  on  some  little  useless  point. 
Our  man  was  decently  buried,  but  he  is  buried  in  a  lonely  place.  His  remains 
were  deposited  in  a  large  fifty-acre  field  in  the  rear  of  the  hospital — another 
interment  had  been  made  sometime  before,  and  these  two  were  the  only  graves 
in  the  field.  Henry  Hargrave  made  a  head  and  foot-board,  which  was  planted 
at  the  grave  to-day.  It  is  marked  'George  Bluch,  Co.  A,  DurelPs  Battery, 
P.  V.  Died  July  9th,  1862,  aged  22  years.'  If  possible  his  remains  will  be 
sent  home  for  re-interment. 


CAMP  LIFE  AT  FREDERICKSBURG.  49 

"There  were  orders  for  a  review  this  morning,  but  they  were  counter 
manded,  and  the  matter  ended  by  the  usual  company  inspection.  Having  per 
mission  to  go  to  Fredericksburg,  I  started  for  the  river  and  crossed  over  in  the 
boat.  This  boat  was  run  by  some  infantry  soldiers,  especially  for  the  accommo 
dation  of  the  men  who  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  no  passes.  The  matter 
was  known  by  the  generals,  but  they  managed  to  wink  at  it.  I  promenaded 
through  town  and  finally  brought  up  at  the  Presbyterian  church,  just  as  the 
parson  had  read  his  text.  The  congregation  was  rather  a  mixed  affair,  the  blue 
breeches  being  in  the  ascendancy.  There  were  about  two  hundred  ladies,  all 
nicely  dressed  and  possessed  of  pretty  faces,  ornamented  with  noses  that  would 
turn  up  whenever  a  soldier  would  make  a  move  ;  about  the  same  number  ot 
soldiers,  and  only  nine  male  citizens.  The  soldiers  were  very  orderly  during 
the  whole  service.  The  citizens  were  mostly  elderly  gentlemen  and  rather  fine 
looking.  The  minister  was  a  brother  of  Major  Lacey,  at  one  time  a  very  vio 
lent  secessionist  ;  but  after  our  arrival  there,  his  views  were  considerably  mod 
ified.  His  sermon  was  very  good  ;  no  allusion  was  made  to  the  existing  diffi 
culties  ;  the  only  approach  to  them  was  in  his  closing  prayer,  in  which  he  asked 
that  the  world  might  all  be  one,  and  peace  reign  through  the  same.  The  sub 
ject  was  the  Divinity  of  Christ.  The  matter  was  good,  and  clearly  showed  the 
polished  scholar.  The  manner  was  not  appropriate  ;  his  aim  seeming  to  be  to 
produce  effect,  and  by  too  much  mannerism  the  whole  discourse  was  marred. 
Their  singing  was  good,  the  organ  being  of  a  very  fine  tone,  the  only  drawback 
being  the  want  of  male  voices.  I  really  felt,  during  the  whole  time,  out  of 
place.  I  think  I  behaved  myself.  The  sermon  did  me  but  little  good,  as  my 
thoughts  were  wandering  around  the  church  ;  one  minute  I  would  be  peeping 
at  a  pretty  face  under  some  bonnet ;  at  others  counting  the  old  men's  heads, 
and  wondering  when  the  preacher  would  let  some  secesh  slip  out.  Most  all  of 
the  ladies  were  dressed  in  mourning,  probably  for  some  of  their  families  lost  in 
the  war,  for  the  regiment  raised  here  was  literally  cut  to  pieces  in  the  late 
battles. 

"  After  the  services  I  strolled  through  the  town.  It  was  rather  scattered 
and  not  very  prepossessing,  although  there  were  some  very  fine  residences. 
At  the  southern  portion  there  were  large  yards,  finely  laid  out  and  planted  with 
shrubbery  and  flowers  In  my  wanderings  I  came  to  our  old  camping  ground. 
Great  changes  had  taken  place  here  ;  the  whole  had  been  enclosed  by  a  sub 
stantial  picket  fence,  plowed  and  planted  in  grass  and  oats.  The  old  cabin 
had  been  whitewashed  and  boasted  a  front  porch,  made  of  an  old  rebel  tent 
stretched  on  poles.  Work  was  progressing  on  a  wire  bridge  to  span  the  Rap- 
pahannock  River. 

July  I4th. — "Great  horse  hunts  on  hand  this  morning.  Our  men  are 
scouring  the  country  in  search  of  the  lieutenant's  little  black  nag,  that  slipped 
his  halter  during  the  night.  Two  old  rebels  are  also  hunting  the  camps  for  a 
horse  they  report  as  having  been  stolen  from  them  during  the  night.  Their 
horse,  if  stolen,  can  be  found  at  the  picket  ropes  of  the  cavalry,  they  are  the 
horse  thieves  of  the  division.  Batteries  are  too  honest  to  take  horses,  unless 
they  leave  one  in  exchange,  always  being  careful  to  leave  a  very  bad  one  for 
change.  The  company  was  marched  over  to  headquarters  in  the  evening,  the 
result  of  the  last  court  martial  was  read,  one  man  was  sentenced  to  fifteen  days 
imprisonment  in  the  guard-house  and  to  attend  to  all  his  daily  duties  besides. 


50  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

Another  was  dishonorably  discharged  from  the  artillery  command.  The  latter 
man  was  nothing  more  than  a  mere  stripling  of  a  boy,  not  over  sixteen  years  old. 
In  fact  Captain  Monroe's  men  were  mostly  boys  ;  both  the  prisoners  belonged  to 
him. 

July  idth. — "  An  unfortunate  occurrence  happened  this  afternoon  at  Fal- 
mouth.  The  horses  attached  to  a  government  wagon  being  frightened,  ran 
into  the  river,  and  becoming  entangled  in  their  harness,  three  of  them  were 
drowned  before  they  could  be  extricated.  A  large  train  of  wagons  arrived  to 
day  from  Washington.  They  are  for  general  distribution  among  the  different 
commands  now  here.  Our  battery  is  entitled  to  one  of  them.  Fredericksburg 
is  now  well  watched  against  all  incursions  of  the  rebels.  Our  fighting  force  on 
the  water  is  considerably  increased  by  six  more  gunboats,  the  whole  number  at 
the  bridge  being  eight.  A  great  many  men  in  the  command  are  sick  at  pres 
ent.  The  battery  has  the  fewest — only  one  man  on  the  list  this  morning.  Two 
or  three  others  have  been  ailing  for  a  week  or  so,  but  are  able  to  attend  to 
their  duties.  The  facilities  and  inducements  afforded  by  the  town  for  every 
species  of  vice  and  dissipation  increase  the  sick  list  at  a  rapid  rate.  The  reg 
ulars  have  as  many  as  forty  on  their  lists,  the  most  of  them  the  victims  of  their 
own  imprudence.  The  Rhode  Islanders  have  sixteen  men  in  the  hospitals, 
while  we  have  but  three.  This  is  a  small  casualty  list  for  a  company  of  145 
men.  Our  men  have  improved  very  much  in  their  drills  since  we  last  came 
here.  The  battery  is  on  drill  twice  everyday  ;  in  the  morning  on  the  field,  and  in 
the  evening,  after  retreat,  in  the  park  at  the  gun.  Since  leaving  Alexandria  we 
have  had  very  little  opportunity  for  field  manoeuvres  until  the  last  three  weeks. 
The  morning  drill  is  generally  over  by  8  o'clock.  The  New  Hampshire  men 
are  generally  on  the  field  before  breakfast. 

July  ijth. — "Was  an  excessively  hot  day,  and  there  was  but  little  run 
ning  about  among  the  men.  We  received  our  new  wagon  and  ambulance. 
The  wagon  was  good  enough  ;  but  what  a  wreck  the  old  '  body-wagon  '  was  ! 
— top  knocked  in,  spokes  loose,  and  everything  almost  in  the  same  condition 
that  the  '  Deacon's  one-horse  shay  '  was  when  it  went  to  pieces.  By  the  joint 
operations  of  the  blacksmith,  wheelwright  and  saddler,  a  new  one  could  be 
made  of  it.  The  fiery  Rosinante  which  accompanied  it,  and  acted  as  the  mo 
tive  power,  was  a  perfect  curiosity.  In  days  long  gone  by  he  might  have  been 
a  beautiful  gray  ;  the  want  of  sufficient  straw  and  the  entire  absence  of  elbow- 
grease  and  curry-comb  had  entirely  obliterated  that  color,  and  he  stood  before 
you  a  magnificent  specimen  of  a  dirty  horse.  We  had  a  little  after-supper 
sport  this  evening.  The  New  Hampshire  men  got  up  a  foot  race  between 
their  little  darkies,  and  then  wound  up  with  a  standing-on-the-head  perform 
ance.  The  company  was  marched  over  to  headquarters  this  evening  to  hear 
the  results  of  the  courts-martial.  The  poor  fellow,  with  'Thief  on  his  back, 
was  marched  before  the  battalion.  The  object  was  to  bring  the  boy  into  dis 
respect.  But  it  failed  of  its  purpose,  as  a  majority  of  the  men  believed  him 
innocent.  Our  doctor  is  very  attentive  to  the  sick  and  presents  a  strong  con 
trast  to  the  drunken  ones  we  have  heretofoie  had.  He  came  around  twice 
during  the  day  to  look  after  his  patients.  There  was  quite  a  commotion  among 
our  teamsters  to-day,  an  order  being  given  to  the  effect  that  no  soldier  should 
be  put  on  the  teams.  They  were  very  indignant,  and  swore  that  it  would  be  a 
sorry  day  for  the  darkies  that  they  ever  took  charge  of  the  teams.  They 


CAMP  LIFE  AT  FREDERICKSBURC;.  51 

claimed  that  it  was  not  right  that  run-away  negroes  should  draw  their  #25  per 
month,  while  the  white  soldier,  who  performed  twice  the  labor,  and  run  the 
greater  risk,  only  received  $13. 

July  1 8th — "  Had  quite  an  interesting  conversation  with  our  doctor  this 
morning.  He  is  new  to  us,  and  comparatively  new  in  the  science  of  'Saw- 
bonery.'  I  didn't  ask  him  his  name — the  army  supposition  being  that  it  is  none 
of  my  business.  And  as  a  man  has  no  right  even  to  think,  I  bothered  my  head 
no  more  about  it.  Do  what  you  are  told  to  do,  and  never  dare  to  think  on 
anything  but  your  duty.  The  definition  of  soldier  is,  one  who  is  paid  by  the 
Government  to  stand  up  and  be  shot  at  ;  a  machine  to  be  twisted  by  dumb  and 
drunken  officers,  and  to  move  as  he  is  told  ;  a  man  who  is  cursed  when  he  does 
right,  and  cursed  when  he  does  wrong.  I  inquired  the  name  of  our  doctor  ;  it 
is  Moser,  from  Harrisburg. 

July  iQth. — "This  has  been  thepleasantest  day  we  have  had  for  a  long  time. 
The  refugees  from  the  rebel  army  have  entered  into  merchandising.  It  is  a 
source  of  much  fun  to  question  them  in  reference  to  rebel  affairs,  they  never  telling 
the  same  story  to  two  persons.  The  division  commenced  moving  about  mid 
night,  on  a  reconnoisance  toward  Gordonsville. 

July  24th. — "  The  negroes  are  coming  in  in  droves,  principally  from  Caroline 
and  Prince  George  counties.  The  foraging  business  is  being  gone  into  now 
with  full  vim,  under  General  Pope's  orders.  Ten  wagons,  with  a  large  number 
of  men  started  out  this  morning  in  search  of  potatoes  and  other  '  garden  sass, ' 
over  the  river.  William  S.  McNair  had  his  leg  bruised  or  sprained  by  falling 
from  his  horse." 

Lieutenant  Gries  left  the  battery  on  July  28th  under  orders 
to  recruit  men  for  the  service.  He  spent  the  greater  portion  of 
his  leisure  time  in  the  orderly  sergeant's  tent,  and  was  a  favorite  of 
the  men.  On  August  4th  the  battery  moved  a  distance  of  about 
half  a  mile  and  established  its  camp  in  a  wheat-stubble  field.  The 
troops  of  General  Burnsides'  command  began  to  arrive  from  North 
Carolina  and  encamp  about  Fredericksburg.  On  the  evening  of 
the  6th  the  centre  section  of  the  battery  crossed  the  Rappahannock 
River  and  took  part  in  a  reconnoissance  with  infantry  and  cavalry, 
returning  at  about  10  o'clock.  On  the  evening  of  the  8th  the  left 
section  went  out  with  a  similar  force  on  like  duty,  and  returned 
after  reaching  a  point  about  six  miles  below  Fredericksburg. 


52  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
POPE'S  RETREAT — KELLY'S  FORD  AND  BRISTOE. 

A/I  AjOR-GENERAL  John  Pope  had  been  placed  in  command 
_/  V  of  all  troops  in  Virginia  north  of  the  Peninsula,  and  had 
made  an  aggressive  movement  against  Richmond  from  the 
north,  a  portion  of  his  army  under  General  Banks  having  advanced 
south  as  far  as  Culpepper  Court  House.  On  the  Qth  of  August 
troops  began  to  leave  Fredericksburg  to  join  Pope's  advance  at 
Culpepper. 

General  Jesse  L.  Reno's  Division  of  Burnside's  Corps,  being 
short  of  artillery,  Durell's  Battery  was,  on  the  i2th,  transferred 
from  McDowell's  Corps  to  Reno's  Division.  The  expeditionary 
forces  of  Burnside's  command  were,  on  the  same  day,  merged  into 
the  Ninth  Army  Corps.  This  corps  contained  some  famous  regi 
ments  that  had  rendered  distinguished  services  in  North  Car 
olina.  Among  them  were  the  48th,  soth,  5ist  and  zooth  Penn 
sylvania,  the  5ist,  79th  (Highlanders)  and  9th  (Hawkins'  Zou 
aves)  New  York,  the  2ist  Massachusetts,  the  2nd  Maryland,  the 
9th  New  Hampshire  and  other  regiments  of  good  fighting  material, 
all  from  the  East.  There  were  no  Western  Regiments  in  this  corps. 
Durell's  Battery  was  assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade,  Second 
Division,  composed  of  the  5ist  Pennsylvania,  5ist  New  York,  2ist 
Massachusetts  and  9th  New  Hampshire  Regiments,  commanded  by 
Brigadier  General  Samuel  Sturgis. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  a  high  wind  storm  burst 
suddenly  upon  the  camps  and  blew  so  fiercely  that  the  men  were 
obliged  to  hang  to  the  tent  poles  to  keep  their  quarters  from  being 
carried  away  in  the  gale.  Scarcely  anything  could  be  seen  for  the 
flying  dust  which  arose  from  the  finely  ground  soil  of  the  wheat 
field  upon  which  the  battery  was  encamped.  In  the  midst  of  the 
tempest  the  blare  of  the  bugler's  "  Assembly"  was  heard  above 
the  roar  of  the  storm,  and  the  men  groped  their  way  through  the 
blinding  dust  into  line,  wondering  what  would  happen  next.  Cap 
tain  Durell  came  out  of  his  tent  and  gave  orders  to  pack  up  and  be 
in  readiness  to  move  at  6  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  also  informed 
the  men  that  they  were  to  join  General  Pope's  army  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Culpepper  Court  House. 


POPE'S  RETREAT — KELLY'S  FORD  AND  BRISTOE.  53 

About  the  same  time  newspapers  were  received  announcing 
that  a  battle  had  been  fought  at  Cedar  Mountain,  a  few  miles  below 
Culpepper  Court  House,  between  Jackson  and  Banks,  in  which 
Jackson  was  compelled  to  retire.  Active  service  seemed  to  be  in 
sight  for  the  battery,  which  prospect  nearly  all  the  men  appeared 
to  welcome.  The  infantry  of  the  brigade  to  which  the  battery  had 
just  been  assigned  had  been  engaged  in  battle  under  Burnside  at 
Newbern  and  other  points  in  North  Carolina,  and  were  not  "  spoil 
ing  for  fight,"  as  were  those  who  had  not  yet  been  under  the  fire 
of  the  enemy. 

The  battery  moved  promptly  at  the  appointed  time,  but  was 
halted  before  proceeding  far  to  wait  for  the  infantry  to  come  up. 
A  large  number  of  the  army  wagons  were  provided  with  green 
mules,  and  negro  drivers  new  to  the  business,  which,  on  the  bad 
roads,  cut  up  by  a  heavy  column  that  had  preceded,  resulted  in 
several  upsets  and  slow  progress.  The  column  was  on  the  road  all 
night  long  and  halted  at  sunrise  the  next  morning  to  feed  the  horses 
and  permit  the  men  to  make  a  cup  of  coffee.  At  8  o'clock  the 
column  was  again  in  motion,  making  frequent  halts,  which  permitted 
the  men  to  do  some  foraging.  The  country  offered  fair  opportu 
nities  for  this  diversion,  abounding  in  green  corn,  geese,  chickens, 
etc. ,  which  afforded  an  acceptable  change  in  the  army  rations.  It 
was  a  hard  march  for  the  infantry.  Heretofore  they  had  been 
transported  from  point  to  point  principally  by  rail  or  water,  and 
there  was  considerable  straggling.  The  August  sun  shown  hot, 
and  made  the  knapsack  and  accoutrements  they  carried  hang  like 
heavy  burdens  upon  their  backs.  The  column  was  again  in  motion 
the  following  morning  at  6  o'clock,  and  soon  reached  the  railroad 
at  Rappahannock  Station,  where  the  infantry  were  loaded  upon 
cars  and  carried  by  rail  down  through  Culpepper  to  the  front. 
The  artillery  of  the  division  continued  the  march  and  encamped  at 
night  about  two  miles  above  Culpepper. 

On  the  1 5th,  the  march  was  again  resumed,  passing  through 
Culpepper  Court  House,  the  artillery  joined  the  infantry  which 
had  proceeded  by  rail,  and  went  into  camp  a  mile  south  of  the 
town.  The  encampments  of  the  troops  were  visible  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach.  General  Pope  had  concentrated  his  army  at  this 
point,  and  was  hourly  receiving  reinforcements  of  McClellan's 
troops  that  were  brought  from  the  Peninsula  via  the  Potomac 
River.  A  large  body  of  the  Confederate  army  was  known  to  have 
left  the  Peninsula,  moving  north,  and  Pope  was  preparing  to  meet 


54  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

them.  The  battle-field  of  Slaughter  Mountain  was  in  close  prox 
imity  to  the  camp.  Some  of  the  wounded  of  that  battle,  who 
had  crawled  into  the  woods  and  could  not  at  first  be  found,  were 
now  being  brought  in.  Nearly  every  house  in  Culpepper  was  a 
hospital,  from  which  the  wounded  were  sent  by  rail  to  Alexandria 
as  fast  as  possible,  a  number  of  them  being  Confederates. 

On  the  1 6th,  the  entire  division  moved  eight  miles  to  the  left 
and  distant  from  the  battle-field  about  three  miles.  The  weather 
was  very  hot.  The  rations  were  short,  and  orders  were  given  to 
the  troops  to  subsist  upon  the  country.  This  was  agreeable  to  the 
men,  and  was  easily  complied  with,  as  that  section  of  country  had 
not  been  foraged  by  troops  of  either  side  of  the  conflict.  The 
men  fared  sumptuously  on  fresh  pork,  mutton,  green  corn,  fruit, 
etc.  The  next  day,  a  number  of  the  batterymen  visited  the  battle 
field,  though  nothing  could  be  seen  but  the  marks  of  the  contest 
upon  the  ground,  fences  and  trees.  The  wounded  had  all  been 
removed  and  the  dead  buried. 

On   the   1 8th,  there  was  a  muster  inspection,  after  which   the 
battery  was  drilled  upon  a  very  rough  field.      Marching  orders  were 
issued  in  the  afternoon,  and  the   command  was   held   in   readiness 
until  midnight,  when  a  backward  course  was  taken  instead  of  for 
ward  as  had  been  expected.      It  was  the  beginning  of  Pope's  re 
treat.      The  troops  were  ordered  to  place  the  remaining  fence  rails 
upon  the  camp  fires  before  starting,  so  that  the  fires  would  be  kept 
up  long  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  army,  and  give  the  enemy  the 
impression  that   Pope's  troops  were  still  there.      The  route  of  the 
retreat  of  the     -econd  Division   of  the    Ninth  Corps   led    through 
Stevensburg  to  Kelly's  Ford,  distant  about  eight  miles  below  Rap- 
pahannock  Station.      Stevensburg,    a   village   of  the   homeliest   of 
houses,  without  paint  or  whitewash,  was   passed  through   at   day 
break,  and  before  meridian,  the  battery  forded  the  Rappahannock 
River  at  Kelly's  Ford,  and  took  position  for  action  in  an  old  peach 
orchard  located  upon  the  bluffs,  commanding   an    extended   range 
over  the  south  side  of  the  stream       After  Captain  Durell  had  made 
careful  disposition  ot  his  command,  the   men   erected    their   tents 
and  prepared  their   rations   for   dinner.      During    the    afternoon, 
General  Pope  and  his  staff  passed  by  on  a  round  of  inspecting  his 
lines.      Toward  evening  the  enemy's   cavalry  pickets   made   their 
appearance  in  the  edge  of  the   woods,  distant   nearly  a  mile   from 
the   river,  and   were   met   by   the    Union   cavalry  pickets,  when  a 
skirmish  took  place.      Two  shots  were  sent  from  the  battery's  guns, 
upon  which  the  enemy  retired  into  the  woods. 


POPE'S  RETREAT — KELLY'S  FORD  AND  BRISTOE.  55 

On  the  morning  of  the  2ist,  numbers  of  the  enemy  came  into 
the  clearing  and  exposed  themselves  to  view,  indicating  that  the 
woods  were  full  of  Confederates.  In  the  afternoon  General  Bu- 
ford  came  down  to  the  ford  with  his  brigade  of  cavalry  and  crossed 
the  river  to  reconnoitre  and  ascertain  the  strength  of  the  enemy. 
Having  no  artillerv,  the  left  section  of  Durell's  Battery,  Lieutenant 
Howard  Mcllvain  commanding,  was  detailed  for  service  with  the 
cavalry  on  this  reconnoissance.  Mcllvain,  riding  at  the  head  of  his 
command  of  two  guns,  followed  the  cavalry  across  the  river,  and 
was  halted  in  the  road  at  the  edge  of  the  woods  to  await  orders 
from  General  Buford.  The  cavalry  advanced  through  the  woods, 
driving  the  enemy  before  them.  The  woods  were  about  a  mile  in 
breadth,  and  when  the  cavalry  reached  the  open  fields  upon  the 
other  side,  the  rattle  of  the  carbines  opened  in  a  very  lively  manner. 
Mcllvain  now  received  orders  to  move  quickly  over  the  road 
through  the  woods  in  support  of  the  cavalry.  The  cannoneers 
were  ordered  to  mount  the  ammunition  chests,  and  the  horses 
were  urged  forward  on  a  brisk  gallop.  The  guns  flew  through  the 
woods  at  such  a  rate  of  speed  as  to  make  riding  on  the  ammunition 
chests  almost  as  dangerous  as  exposure  to  the  enemy's  bullets. 
The  men  were  obliged  to  hold  on  to  the  lid  and  hand^s  of  the 
chests  with  vice-like  grasp,  as  the  wheels  struck  the  stones  and 
stumps  in  the  road. 

Emerging  from  the  woods  the  scene  of  the  battle,  which  ex 
tended  over  several  fields  of  level  ground,  came  into  full  view.  The 
Union  cavalry  was  engaged  in  a  hot  skirmish,  and  Mcllvain  was 
ordered  to  unlimber  his  guns  and  open  upon  the  enemy.  The 
ten-pounder  rifled  Parrotts  were  very  soon  throwing  time  shells, 
and  the  enemy  as  quickly  responded  with  twenty- pound  rifled 
guns,  their  first  shot  striking  the  ground  and  bursting  in  very  close 
proximity  to  Mcllvain' s  section.  The  second  struck  the  flank  of  a  cav 
alryman' s  horse  about  fifty  yards  distant  from  the  section  of  artillery 
and  killed  the  animal.  Other  shots  struck  the  fence  rails  that  had 
been  piled  up  by  the  cavalry  to  serve  as  barricades.  Mcllvain 
soon  got  the  range  and  the  enemy's  guns  were  silenced  He 
then  advanced  a  few  hundred  yards  to  get  the  view  which  a  corner 
of  a  woods  to  the  front  and  left  cut  off,  and  selected  for  his  target 
a  large  house  around  which  a  considerable  body  of  the  Confede 
rates  had  gathered.  The  second  shot  passed  through  the  roof  and 
created  a  lively  scene  in  that  vicinity,  mounted  men  fleeing  in 
different  directions,  their  heads  bobbing  up  and  down  as  they 


56  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

galloped  away  to  a  place  of  safety.  A  few  moments  afterward  the 
enemy  re-opened  fire  from  their  battery,  while  Mcllvain  was  again 
advancing  his  position,  but  they  were  speedily  silenced. 

At  this  juncture,  a  staff  officer  came  galloping  up  to  Lieutenant 
Mcllvain  and  commanded  him  to  retire  through  the  woods.  Mc 
llvain,  who  had  warmed  up  to  the  fight,  and  was  desirous  of  press 
ing  his  success  to  a  decided  issue,  demanded,  "  By  whose  orders?" 
The  staff  officer  answered,  "  By  orders  of  General  Buford."  So 
there  was  no  alternative.  Obedience  to  the  orders  of  superiors  is 
the  prime  duty  of  a  soldier.  The  guns  were  limbered  up  and  re 
tired  through  the  woods  at  a  rate  of  speed  almost  as  rapid  as  they 
had  been  advanced.  Suddenly  the  command  was  brought  to  a 
halt  in  front  of  a  regiment  of  infantry  of  the  division  which  had 
been  sent  across  the  river  to  support  the  cavalry  and  which  were 
lined  along  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  fence,  ready  to  pour  a 
volley  into  the  approaching  artillery.  Lieutenant  Mcllvain  took 
in  the  perilous  situation  in  an  instant  and  saved  his  command 
from  disaster  by  throwing  up  his  arms  and  shouting,  ' '  Your  own 
men  !  "  The  infantry,  who  had  mistaken  the  dust-covered  artil 
lerists  for  a  column  of  approaching  Confederates,  immediately 
answered  Mcllvain' s  shout  by  bringing  the  butts  of  their  rifles  to 
the  ground.  It  was  a  narrow  escape  from  one  of  those  unfortu 
nate  occurrences  of  troops  firing  into  their  own  men,  which  took 
place  on  several  occasions  during  the  war. 

Proceeding  through  the  woods  into  the  open  space  near  the 
river,  the  left  section  joined  the  other  four  guns  of  the  battery, 
which  had  in  the  meantime  been  sent  to  the  south  side  of  the 
river.  The  left  section  was  in  a  few  minutes  again  detached  from 
the  battery  and  posted  near  the  edge  of  the  woods.  At  this  point 
the  trees  had  been  cut  off,  the  ground  being  covered  with  second 
growth  timber.  From  this  position  Mcllvain  was  ordered  to  shell 
the  locality  occupied  by  the  enemy  which  he  had  encountered  on 
the  other  side  of  the  woods.  This  was  all  chance  work,  as  the 
effect  of  the  shots  upon  the  enemy  could  not  be  seen.  This  ran 
dom  shooting  was  continued  for  about  half  an  hour,  when  the  sec 
tion  was  ordered  to  join  the  main  portion  of  the  battery.  The 
men  of  the  left  section  were  now  the  envy  of  their  comrades.  They 
had  been  in  a  fight,  and  the  others  had  not.  But  the  latter' s 
opportunity  was  yet  to  come,  and  it  was  not  long  in  coming. 

A  few  moments  later  Captain  Durell  received  orders  to  ad 
vance  through  the  woods  with  his  entire  command.  The  battery 


POPE'S  RETREAT — KELLY'S  FORD  AND  BRISTOE.  57 

moved  forward  at  a  lively  rate  over  the  same  road  that  had  been 
taken  by  the  left  section.  The  enemy's  artillery  opened  upon  the 
column  when  it  reached  the  ground  from  which  Mcllvain  was  retired, 
dropping  shot  and  shell  upon  each  side  of  it ;  but  Captain  Durell, 
cool  and  collected,  seemingly  unmindful  of  the  fire,  advanced  to 
the  crest  of  a  ridge  to  the  left,  upon  which  the  guns  went  into 
position.  In  this  movement  the  battery  was  supported  by  the  5th 
New  York  Cavalry,  which  covered  its  exposed  flank.  The  guns 
soon  replied  to  the  enemy's  shots,  and  drove  them  from  their  posi 
tion  after  expending  about  forty  rounds  upon  them. 

Night  was  coming  on  when  the  battery  retired  with  the  cavalry 
to  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  General  Buford  probably 
having  obtained  the  information  he  wanted.  At  all  events,  it  was 
learned  that  Lee's  army  had  left  the  Peninsula  and  was  near  at 
hand.  Thus  ended  the  engagement  at  Kelly's  Ford,  the  battery's 
baptism  of  fire.  Though  exposed  to  the  cannonading  of  the  enemy 
for  some  time  before  it  stopped  in  the  advance  to  reply,  it  did  not 
lose  a  man,  and  succeeded  in  silencing  the  guns  opposed  to  it. 
From  prisoners  captured  by  the  cavalry,  it  was  learned  that  the 
enemy's  battery  was  badly  hammered  and  several  of  the  cannoneers 
killed.  The  men  of  Durell' s  Battery  bivouacked  that  night  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rappahannock,  with  a  feeling  of  gratification  that  their 
first  encounter  with  the  enemy  had  resulted  in  nothing  that  would 
cast  a  shadow  upon  their  record. 

The  battery  moved  early  the  next  morning  (August  22d). 
Rain  fell  during  the  night  and  made  the  bottom  land  near  the 
river  a  very  unpleasant  place  to  bivouac.  'The  division  commander, 
Major-General  Jesse  L.  Reno,  came  along  just  before  the  battery 
pulled  out  of  park  and  stopped  to  give  Captain  Durell  instructions. 
He  had  a  very  singular  voice — somewhat  effeminate  and  squeaking 
—which  became  the  subject  of  considerable  comment  and  amuse 
ment  among  the  men.  The  general  was  quite  a  stranger  to  the 
battery  and  the  men  saw  only  his  peculiarities.  Later,  when  they 
became  better  acquainted  with  his  sterling  qualities,  they  fully 
appreciated  his  worth  as  a  soldier. 

The  command  moved  away  from  the  low  land  and  wound 
over  hilly  and  slippery  roads  up  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahan 
nock.  The  sound  of  cannon  was  heard  from  the  direction  of  the 
march,  and  suggested  to  the  men  the  prospect  of  another  day  of 
fighting.  Soon  after,  a  staff  officer  came  galloping  down  the  road 
with  orders  for  Captain  Durell  to  send  a  section  of  his  battery  to 


58  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

join  General  Buford's  cavalry  at  Fayetteville,  some  six  miles  dis 
tant.  The  centre  section,  Lieutenant  Christopher  Loser,  com 
manding,  was  detailed  for  the  duty.  The  section  of  guns  went 
forward  at  full  speed,  in  light  marching  order,  and  was  soon  out  of 
sight.  The  remaining  two  sections  moved  forward  slowly  in  rear 
of  a  long  column  of  infantry.  There  were  many  long  and  vexa 
tious  halts,  the  day's  march  ending  about  8  o'clock  in  the  even 
ing,  when  the  battery  parked  about  one  mile  from  Rappahannock 
Station. 

It  moved  out  of  camp  at  8  o'clock  the  next  morning  and 
joined  the  column  of  infantry,  which  slowly  marched  along  the  road 
running  the  course  of  the  river,  progress  being  interrupted  by  fre 
quent  halts.  These  stages  of  marching  and  halting  were  continued 
until  midnight.  The  distance  covered  at  the  end  of  the  day's 
march  was  not  much  over  five  miles.  Cannonading  was  heard  all 
day  long  at  different  points  along  the  river,  General  Sigel  having 
met  the  enemy  in  a  lively  engagement  in  the  vicinity  of  Rappa 
hannock  Station. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  the  battery  moved  at  daylight 
and  proceeded  about  six  miles,  when  it  parked  for  dinner  in  a 
grove  on  an  elevated  piece  of  ground  near  the  river,  not  far  from 
Warrenton  Springs.  While  the  men  were  enjoying  an  after-dinner 
rest,  they  were  unceremoniously  aroused  by  the  enemy,  who  opened 
upon  them  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  with  a  battery. 
The  captain  ordered  "Boots  and  Saddles,"  and  the  command  left 
its  exposed  resting  place  in  very  short  order.  The  enemy  suc 
ceeded  in  dropping  four  shells  uncomfortably  near  ;  but,  fortu 
nately,  neither  man  nor  beast  was  injured.  Heavy  fighting  was  in 
progress  not  far  distant  at  the  bridge,  which  the  enemy  had  built 
with  the  intention  of  crossing  the  river.  The  Union  batteries  had 
killed  some  of  the  horses  and  driven  the  cannoneers  away  from  the 
guns  of  a  Confederate  battery.  The  enemy's  sharpshooters  were 
firing  upon  the  men,  who  were  endeavoring  to  destroy  the  bridge. 
The  Union  guns  sent  a  shell  at  them  whenever  they  made  an  ap 
pearance.  The  Union  force  finally  succeeded  in  setting  the  bridge 
on  fire,  and  burned  it  to  the  water.  The  battery  again  moved, 
with  many  delays,  until  midnight,  when  it  halted,  with  orders  to 
keep  the  horses  in  harness  The  men  were  permitted  to  lie  down 
at  their  respective  posts  around  the  guns. 

At  daylight  the  command  moved  from  its  bivouac,  which  was 
near  the  Sulphur  Springs,  and  marched  up  to  Warrenton,  where  the 


POPE'S  RETREAT — KELLY'S  FORD  AND  BRISTOE.  59 

centre  section  returned  to  the  battery  from  its  scouting  service  with 
the  cavalry.  The  men  of  that  section  had  had  a  rough  experience. 
They  had  left  the  battery  in  haste,  many  of  them  without  blankets 
or  haversacks,  and  had  obtained  but  three  meals  in  their  four  days' 
absence.  When  they  reached  the  vicinity  of  Warrenton,  they 
foraged  ,  pon  the  faim  houses.  The  men  of  the  other  two  sections 
of  the  baltery  were  also  short  of  rations.  Charles  H.  MacCorkle, 
who  went  out  with  the  centre  section,  gives  the  following  account 
of  their  raid  with  the  cavalry  : 

' '  Upon  reaching  Fayetteville,  we  were  marched  to  a  ford  of  the  Rappahannock 
River,  cannoneers  mounted,  and  there  joined  the  cavalry,  who  were  in  line  of 
battle.  We  were  assigned  to  a  position  in  a  field  by  the  side  of  a  road,  with 
orders  to  have  a  double  charge  of  canister  ready  at  the  mouth  of  each  gun,  and 
to  repeat  the  fire  rapidly  in  case  of  an  attack  by  the  enemy.  We  remained  in 
this  position,  every  man  at  his  post,  until  evening.  No  hard-tack  or  coffee  that 
night.  A  very  heavy  thunderstorm  came  up  during  the  night.  Lightning 
struck  into  the  cavalry  and  caused  the  discharge  of  a  pistol  which  was  in  a  cav 
alryman's  holster,  and  sent  a  ball  into  his  leg.  He  was  carried  back  to  a  field 
hospital.  Before  the  storm,  it  was  expected  that  the  rebels  would  make  an 
attempt  to  cross  the  river  and  attack,  but  the  rain  fell  in  such  torrents  as  to 
swell  the  stream,  and  prevented  any  attempt  they  might  have  contemplated  of 
fording  the  river.  Even  had  they  been  successful  in  effecting  a  crossing,  they 
might  have  found  it  necessary  to  recross,  which  was  not  a  pleasant  contingency 
to  arise  when  confronted  by  a  rapidly  swelling  stream.  The  men  stood  at  their 
posts  all  night  long,  wet  to  the  skin,  with  double  charges  of  canister  with  which 
to  greet  the  approaching  enemy. 

"  At  10  o'clock  on  the  23d,  we  were  ordered  to  march  back  to  Fayetteville. 
There  we  halted  until  1.30  o'clock,  when  we  received  orders  to  return  to  the 
ford,  as  the  rebels  were  exhibiting  an  intention  to  cross  the  river.  We  again 
placed  our  guns  '  in  battery  '  on  the  same  ground  occupied  the  day  previous, 
but  the  enemy  shortly  afterward  withdrew.  We  soon  afterward  retired  from 
the  ford  and  marched  with  the  cavalry  to  Warrenton,  where  we  bivouacked. 
The  men  had  had  nothing  to  eat  since  leaving  the  battery,  but  enjoyed  a  night 
of  undisturbed  rest. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  24th  the  cavalrymen  gave  us  each  a  cup  of  coffee, 
and  we  foraged  green  corn  and  roasted  it  in  the  camp  fire,  which  was  regarded 
as  quite  a  feast.  The  lieutenant  gave  his  men  permission  to  forage  for  both 
men  and  horses,  which  was  clone  in  the  most  approved  style.  Chickens, 
turkeys,  cornmeal  and  milk  were  brought  in  and  most  of  the  day  was  devoted 
to  cooking  and  eating.  We  lost  two  horses  while  on  the  reconnoissance  and 
replaced  them  by  impressing  into  the  United  btates  service  two  from  an  old 
rebel  farmer.  Troops  were  now  passing  us  in  a  continuous  column,  and  at  3 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we,  too,  moved  on  to  the  other  side  of  Warrenton  and 
bivouacked  for  the  night.  Here  we  drew  some  rations  of  '  hard-tack.' 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  25th  we  received  word  that  the  battery  was  coming, 
so  we  harnessed  our  horses  and  got  in  readiness  to  join  it,  which  we  were  very 
glad  to  do  when  it  made  its  appearance,  and  moved  with  it  to  Warrenton  Junc 
tion,  where  the  whole  battery  encamped." 


60  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

A  depot  of  supplies  for  the  army  had  been  established  at  the 
Junction.  Here  the  battery  received  rations  for  the  men,  and  feed 
for  the  half-starved  horses.  The  place  was  in  a  bustle  with  engines 
and  cars  moving  backward  and  forward,  in  the  work  of  hiuling  the 
vast  amount  of  supplies  necessary  to  feed  Pope's  army.  Some  of 
the  trains  came  in  loaded  with  troops  from  McClelland' s  army, 
brought  down  from  Washington  to  reinforce  Pope.  The  divisions 
of  Generals  Hooker  and  Kearney  had  all  arrived.  The  artillerists 
spent  the  greater  portion  of  the  day  in  cooking  rations  and  doing 
the  ''family  wash,"  which  was  badly  needed. 

The  battery  moved  toward  Manassas  on  the  morning  of  the 
2yth.  Passing  by  Hooker's  troops,  it  was  observed  that  all  of  his 
men  were  under  arms  ;  some  in  motion,  and  others  ready  to  take 
their  place  as  the  column  moved  forward.  The  battery  had  pro 
ceeded  some  distance,  when  the  whole  column  was  brought  10  a 
halt  by  an  aide  riding  by  on  a  full  run  towards  the  front.  Soon 
the  column  was  countermarched  back  toward  the  Junction.  The 
battery  passed  slowly  through  a  woods  and  over  a  small  creek,  but 
had  hardly  crossed  the  creek  and  gained  the  level  ground,  when 
the  orders  ' '  Trot,  march  ! ' '  were  given.  The  command  moved 
forward  at  a  gallop,  passing  everything  on  the  route,  and  raising 
such  a  dust  that  the  drivers  could  barely  see  each  other's  horses. 
On  reaching  the  Junction  the  battery  joined  Hooker's  troops,  who 
were  drawn  up  in  line.  The  railroad  was  crossed,  when  an  aide 
rode  up  and  ordered  a  section  of  the  battery  to  join  Reno's  troops 
on  the  lower  side  of  the  railroad,  in  the  direction  of  Catlett.  The 
left  section,  Lieuteaant  Howard  Mcllvain  commanding,  was  detailed 
for  this  service. 

The  entire  force,  consisting  of  Hooker's  and  Kearney's  Divis 
ions  (both  under  command  of  General  Hooker),  and  Reno's  com 
mand,  comprising  his  own  and  Stephen's  Divisions,  were  started  off 
on  quick  time.  As  Catlett  was  approached,  marks  of  the  late  Con 
federate  raid  were  observed.  The  enemy  had  been  there  that  morn 
ing.  At  Catlett,  a  body  of  cavalry  was  found  huddled  up  in  the 
woods.  They  reported  that  they  had  been  driven  in  that  forenoon 
and  that  the  Confederates  under  Jackson  had  burned  the  railroad 
bridges  toward  Manassas.  About  a  mile  above  Catlett,  evidence 
of  recent  work  by  the  enemy  was  seen.  They  had  fired  some 
buildings  which  were  still  burning.  Skirmishers  were  sent  in 
advance  into  the  woods,  and  the  battery  followed  slowly. 


POPE'S  RETREAT — KELLY'S  FORD  AND  BRISTOE.  61 

After  proceeding  in  this  manner  some  three  or  four  miles, 
word  came  that  the  enemy  was  about  an  hour's  march  in  advance. 
The  bridges  along  the  route  had  been  burned  and  were  still  smok 
ing  ;  the  track  was  torn  up  in  many  places  ;  the  sleepers  were  on  fire 
and  the  rails  laid  over  the  burning  ties.  Kettle  Run  was  reached 
and  crossed,  when  the  command  was  brought  to  a  halt.  It  was 
supposed  by  some  of  the  men  that  the  halt  was  caused  by  the  col 
umn  taking  the  wrong  road,  but  they  were  suddenly  assured  that 
they  were  not  on  the  wrong  road  for  the  game  they  were  after,  by 
the  report  of  a  gun,  followed  immediately  by  the  bursting  of  a  case 
shell  above  their  heads.  It  was  like  a  stroke  of  lightning  from  a 
clear  sky.  The  sections  of  the  battery  which  were  separated  when 
the  days'  march  began,  had  come  together  on  the  way,  but  were 
now  again  separated.  The  left  section,  under  command  of  Lieu 
tenant  Mcllvain,  was  assigned  to  a  brigade  of  Hooker's  infantry, 
and  followed  it  up  a  road  which  turned  off  to  the  left.  The 
other  two  sections  of  the  battery  were  ordered  to  advance  along 
the  railroad. 

The  left  section  ascended  a  short,  steep  hill  on  a  brisk  trot, 
which  brought  it  in  full  view  of  the  enemy.  Immediately  the  lat 
ter  opened  with  musketry  and  artillery,  the  Union  infantry  reply 
ing,  and  the  left  section  coming  quickly  "into  battery,"  com 
menced  firing.  A  sharp  battle  was  now  in  progress.  The  heaviest 
of  the  infantry  fighting  took  place  in  a  dense  pine  thicket,  conceal 
ing  both  sides  of  that  arm  of  the  service  from  view,  the  main  por 
tion  of  the  battery  being  unable,  on  this  account,  to  find  a  posi 
tion  to  bring  their  guns  to  bear  upon  the  enemy.  General 
Hooker,  mounted  on  a  white  horse,  remained  near  the  section 
during  the  first  stage  of  the  battle,  directing  and  encouraging  the 
infantry  commands  that  passed  forward  into  the  fight.  His  men 
said  that  to  see  him  on  his  white  horse  was  a  sure  indication  of  a 
fight.  He  was  accompanied  by  one  orderly.  Desiring  some  in 
formation  from  the  front,  he  sent  Lieutenant  Mcllvain  forward 
afoot.  On  returning,  the  lieutenant  had  a  narrow  escape  from 
being  shot  by  one  of  his  own  guns,  which  was  discharged  at  the 
instant  he  emerged  from  the  thicket,  over  which  the  section  was 
sending  time  shells  at  a  rapid  rate. 

After  a  contest  of  about  twenty  minutes,  the  enemy's  infantry 
was  driven  out  of  the  timber  and  his  artillery  forced  back.  They 
were  followed,  now  on  open  ground,  by  the  whole  Union  line,  and 
the  battle  renewed  about  a  half  a  mile  distant,  where  the  enemy 


62  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

made  a  stand.  The  left  section  still  composed  the  only  artillery 
on  the  left  wing  of  the  line.  Occupying  an  advanced  position,  it 
was  taken  for  the  enemy  by  a  Rhode  Island  battery  which  was 
posted  off  to  the  right  and  rear.  Several  shells  were  thrown  at  the 
section,  one  of  which  exploded  over  the  command  ;  but  the  Rhode 
Islanders  were  informed  of  their  mistake  by  signal  before  any  cas 
ualties  occurred.  The  enemy  was  again  driven  back  some  distance 
and  made  another  stand.  The  left  section  quickly  followed  and 
wheeled  into  action  at  the  first  shot  from  the  enemy's  guns.  Here 
the  other  two  sections  came  up,  when  the  six  guns  of  the  battery 
opened  a  hot  fire  upon  the  Confederate  artillery  and  soon  drove  it 
from  the  field. 

The  Confederates  were  now  in  full  retreat,  and  night  coming 
on  the  pursuit  was  discontinued  after  crossing  Bull  Run,  where  the 
troops  bivouacked.  Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Bristoe  Station. 
The  only  loss  suffered  by  the  battery  was  one  horse  killed — being 
the  mount  of  Sergeant  Samuel  K.  Whitner,  chief  of  the  fifth  gun. 

At  a  house  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  bivouac  was  found 
a  couple  of  beeves  killed  and  quartered.  Upon  nearer  approach 
to  the  house,  the  nostrils  of  the  men  who  were  on  a  foraging  expe 
dition,  were  greeted  with  the  savory  aroma  of  cooking  beef-steak. 
The  hungry  artillerists  quickly  followed  the  scent  into  the  house, 
which  was  without  a  human  occupant.,  and  were  gratified  to  find 
several  frying  pans  full  of  steak  on  a  fire  of  coals  made  from  the 
plantation  fence-rails.  The  meat  was  inspected  and  pronounced 
done  to  the  taste,  when  the  men  sat  down  and  enjoyed  a  beef 
steak  supper.  The  uncooked  beef  was  taken  to  the  bivouac  and 
dealt  out  to  their  comrades,  who  were  grateful  to  the  enemy  for  the 
preparation  of  their  entertainment.  Some  of  the  latter' s  soldiers 
had  no  doubt  been  obliged  to  leave  the  beef  in  their  haste  to  get 
away.  After  dark,  a  great  light  illuminated  the  sky  in  the  direction 
of  Manassas,  which  was  supposed  to  be  caused  by  the  burning  of 
its  buildings. 


POPE'S  RETREAT — BULL  RUN  AND  CHANTILLY.  63 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
POPE'S  RETREAT — BULL  RUN  AND  CHANTILLY. 

GARLY  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  the  command  moved 
toward  Manassas,  which  it  reached  about  noon.  The  cause 
of  the  great  light  of  the  night  before  was  now  revealed. 
The  enemy  having  previously  burned  the  bridge  across  Bull  Run, 
rendering  it  impossible  for  the  Federals  to  move  their  supplies  in 
the  retreat.  One  hundred  and  forty-seven  car  loads,  valued  at 
$1,000,000,  had  been  destroyed,  under  orders,  by  the  Second 
Pennsylvania  Cavalry.  But  the  Confederates  had  come  upon  the 
scene  in  time  to  secure  some  of  the  supplies  before  they  were  all 
consumed.  Considerable  ammunition  fell  into  their  hands,  and 
they  fitted  out  their  artillery  horses  with  new  harness  at  the  expense 
of  the  Federal  Government.  Durell's  Battery  got  fourteen  sets  of 
very  nice  team  harness  for  its  wagons.  Stores  of  every  descrip 
tion  were  strewn  around — tea  boxes  burst  open,  coffee  and  sugar 
barrels  destroyed  Such  articles  as  the  Federals  did  not  need  they 
broke  and  scattered  about  so  as  to  be  of  no  use. 

The  battery  halted  at  Manassas  for  an  hour  or  more,  when  it 
moved  toward  Centreville.  Proceeding  up  the  road  one  of  the 
cannoneers  discovered  the  body  of  a  dead  Confederate  cavalryman 
lying  in  the  bushes  that  fringed  the  road  side.  It  was  brought  out 
into  the  road,  and  examined,  and  found  to  bear  marks  of  a  bullet 
wound  in  the  breast  near  the  region  of  the  heart.  The  story  of 
the  cavalryman's  death  was  reported  in  this  wise  :  Early  that  morn 
ing  General  Phil.  Kearney  rode  along  the  road,  unaccompanied  by 
.his  staff.  On  either  side  the  highway  was  bordered  with  trees  and 
bushes.  The  cavalryman  stepped  out  from  the  bushes  as  the  gen 
eral  came  up,  saying,  "  You're  my  prisoner. "  Quick  as  a  flash 
the  general  drew  his  revolver,  exclaiming,  "Am  I?"  and  shot  the 
Confederate.  There  happened  to  be  a  halt  in  the  march  at  this 
point.  After  some  inquiry  into  the  circumstances  attending  the 
death  of  the  foeman  — a  sort  of  military  post  mortem — the  body 
was  buried  by  the  artillerists  at  the  road  side. 

After  the  column  had  resumed  the   march,  a  great  explosion 
was  heard,  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  Confederate  caisson,  but 


64  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

it  was  afterward  learned  to  have  been  one  of  Monroe's.  It  had 
broken  down,  and  he  was  compelled  to  blow  it  up  to  prevent  its 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Cannonading  was  in  progress 
off  to  the  left,  in  the  direction  of  the  old  Bull  Run  battle-field, 
which  continued  throughout  the  day.  The  battery  bivouacked  at 
about  10  o'clock  for  the  night. 

On  the  29th  it  was  off  again  at  6  o'clock,  moving  rapidly,  the 
brigade  teams  ahead,  the  others  taking  the  rear.  Centreville  was 
reached  about  10  o'clock.  The  cannonading  in  the  direction  of 
Bull  Run  was  growing  heavier.  The  baggage  wagons  were  parked 
here,  and  the  battery  proceeded  toward  the  scene  of  the  battle, 
advancing  across  Bull  Run  over  the  stone  bridge  as  quickly  as  pos 
sible.  Early  in  the  afternoon  the  battle  became  general  along  the 
whole  line.  The  battery  was  ordered  up  to  the  front,  and  went 
into  action  half  a  mile  to  the  right  and  front  of  the  Stone  Hospital, 
relieving  another  battery.  Hartranft's  5  ist  Pennsylvania  Regiment 
was  placed  in  support.  Durell  opened  fire  immediately  upon  the 
enemy's  artillery  and  the  woods  in  front,  which  were  occupied  by 
their  infantry.  The  position  of  the  battery,  which  was  posted  on  a 
hill,  commanded  an  excellent  range. 

The  fire  of  the  enemy0  s  artillery  grew  heavier,  and  the  men 
were  kept  busy  replying  to  the  guns  opposed.  The  contest  was 
kept  up  for  nearly  an  hour,  when  the  Confederate  fire  weakened, 
and  there  was  a  cessation  of  the  cannonading.  The  5ist  New 
York  and  the  2  ist  Massachusetts  regiments,  belonging  to  the  brigade 
to  which  the  battery  was  attached,  were  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  advance,  where  they  were 
joined  by  another  brigade  of  the  Second  Division.  This  force 
entered  the  woods  and  charged  upon  a  railroad  embankment  which 
ran  parallel  with  the  line  of  battle.  The  embankment  formed  an 
excellent  breastwork,  behind  which  the  Confederates  were  await 
ing  to  receive  the  assault.  As  the  line  approached,  it  encoun 
tered  a  withering  fire  of  musketry  and  canister.  It  wavered  and 
soon  fell  back,  being  unable  to  face  the  terrible  ordeal.  The 
broken  ranks  of  troops  came  out  of  the  woods  into  the  open 
ground,  followed  by  the  enemy.  As  the  Confederates  appeared 
the  battery  sent  into  their  line  a  rapid  fire  of  time-shell  and 
schrapnel.  The  Union  infantry  had  retired  almost  to  the  foot  of 
the  hill  upon  which  the  battery  was  posted,  so  that  the  shots 
from  DurelPs  guns  were  carried  over  their  heads  into  the  enemy's 
ranks. 


POPE'S  RETREAT — BULL  RUN  AND  CHANTILLY.  65 

The  battle  was  now  raging  fiercely  and  the  flying  bullets  and 
shells  were  whistling  and  shrieking  through  the  air.  The  Confed 
erates'  advanced,  defiantly  waving  their  battle- flags.  They  had 
covered  about  two  hundred  yards,  when  the  fire  which  had  now 
been  concentrated  upon  them  from  every  available  point,  became 
too  hot  to  be  endured,  causing  their  line  to  break  and  retreat  in 
disorder  back  to  the  woods  from  whence  they  came.  Some  of  the 
shots  from  the  battery's  guns  were  terribly  effective, — plunging 
into  the  line  as  it  approached  and  making  serious  gaps  in  it.  The 
field  was  thickly  dotted  with  the  dead  and  wounded  of  both  sides, 
evidencing  the  terrible  carnage  of  the  fight. 

A  lull  in  the  battle  followed  the  repulse  of  the  enemy.  Al 
though  the  battery  was  exposed  to  a  hot  fire  of  shot  and  shell,  but 
one  of  its  number  was  struck — Private  Charles  A.  Cuffel,  who 
was  serving  the  third  gun  at  the  lanyard.  A  Belgium  musket  ball, 
that  had  first  struck  the  ground  in  front  of  him,  glanced  and  hit 
him  on  the  breast.  He  was,  however,  able  to  resume  his  post  at 
the  gun  an  hour  later  when  the  battle  broke  out  afresh.  The 
Doylestown  guidon  also  had  the  honor  of  receiving  bullet  holes. 

The  fighting  was  spasmodic  during  the  remainder  of  the  after 
noon.  As  soon  as  the  enemy  resumed  the  fight  the  Union  troops 
replied,  until  the  battle  again  subsided  to  the  fire  of  the  skirmish 
line.  Neither  side  gained  any  material  advantage.  An  incessant 
fire  was  kept  up  on  the  skirmish  line  throughout  the  night ;  and, 
about  midnight,  became  so  heavy  as  to  threaten  a  general  engage 
ment.  The  troops  on  the  line  of  battle,  who  were  lying  on  their 
arms,  trying  to  catch  a  few  hours'  rest,  were  called  up  ;  but,  as  the 
firing  soon  subsided,  and  a  normal  condition  of  affairs  was  re 
sumed  on  the  skirmish  line,  the  men  were  permitted  to  lie  down 
again. 

The  morning  of  the  30th  ushered  in  hot  weather.  There  was 
little  fighting  in  the  early  part  of  the  day.  There  seemed  to  be 
little  disposition  on  the  part  of  either  side  to  attack.  A  constant 
fire  was  kept  up  on  the  picket  line,  and  an  occasional  shot  was 
fired  by  the  enemy's  artillery,  to  which  the  battery  did  not  reply. 
Early  in  the  afternoon,  however,  the  Confederates  made  an  attack 
in  force  upon  the  left  of  the  line.  Heavy  fighting  continued  for 
several  hours,  the  enemy  assaulting  repeatedly,  without  success, 
until  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  they  succeeded  in  breaking  in  on 
the  left  and  forcing  it  back  in  confusion.  During  this  time  Durell's 
Battery  was  actively  engaged  in  shelling  the  enemy's  lines  which 


66  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

appeared  in  the  edge  of  the  woods.  Emerging  from  the  timber, 
they  advanced  toward  the  battery  until  the  fire  became  too  hot  for 
them,  when  they  fell  back  to  the  cover  of  the  trees. 

But  the  Union  left  had  been  turned  and  was  in  a  state  of  con 
fusion.  The  enemy  pushed  forward  and  the  battery's  flank  be 
came  exposed.  The  enfilading  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery,  (some 
of  whose  guns  threw  railroad  iron  for  the  want  of  projectiles),  and 
the  shower  of  musketry,  which  was  increasing  in  force,  made  the 
position  of  the  battery  untenable.  The  axle  of  the  third  gun  was 
struck  in  the  middle  and  damaged,  two  horses  were  killed  and  one 
man  wounded.  The  enemy  advanced  from  the  woods  in  front 
with  increased  force,  and  were  approaching  the  crest  of  the  hill 
when  the  battery  was  ordered  to  retire.  It  descended  the  hill, 
the  gun  with  the  damaged  axle  moving  carefully  over  the  ground 
following  the  remainder  of  the  battery — for  the  axle  still  bore  the 
gun — until  it  encountered  a  deep  ditch,  where  the  carriage  broke 
down. 

It  was  now  thought  to  be  impossible  to  save  this  gun,  so 
Sergeant  Henry  Sailor,  chief  of  the  piece,  ordered  it  to  be  spiked. 
This  was  done  by  sending  the  rammer  to  the  bottom  of  the  bore, 
and  driving  a  rat-tail  file  into  the  vent  with  an  axe  until  the  file 
clinched  with  the  head  of  the  rammer.  Thus  it  was  about  to  be 
abandoned,  when  another  stand  upon  the  first  hill  some  eight  or 
nine  hundred  yards  in  rear  of  the  first  position  was  made  by  the 
battery,  and  fire  re-opened  upon  the  advancing  enemy.  The  gun 
detachment  was  then  ordered  to  sling  the  piece  under  the  limber, 
or  front  wheels  of  the  gun  carriage,  with  fixed  prolong,  which  duty 
it  proceeded  to  perform  under  a  galling  fire  from  the  enemy.  In 
the  work  of  rescuing  the  gun  from  capture  the  detachment  was 
between  the  lines.  The  shells  from  their  own  guns  were  passing 
over  their  heads  from  the  rear,  and  the  shells  and  railroad  iron 
from  the  enemy's  guns  were  plunging  into  the  ground  from  the 
front  and  flanks.  It  was  an  unusual  situation  and  a  most  trying 
experience,  even  for  a  veteran.  But  the  work  of  slinging  the  gun 
under  the  limber  of  the  carriage  was  expeditiously  performed,  for 
the  battery  had  been  well  drilled  for  such  an  emergency.  No  note 
was  taken  of  the  time  consumed  in  doing  this  work,  but  it  is  safe 
to  assert  that  it  had  never  been  executed  with  such  energy  and 
dispatch  on  any  battery  drill. 

The  disabled  gun  having  been  rescued  it  was  hauled  back  to 
the  position  where  the  battery  was  still  engaged  in  firing.      The 


POPE'S  RETREAT — BULL  RUN  ANMJ  CHANTILI.Y.  67 

enemy  was  sweeping  everything  before  them,  (general  Pope,  ac 
companied  by  General  Sigel  and  several  members  of  his  staff,  rode 
up  to  the  battery's  position,  took  a  survey  of  the  field,  and  held  a 
consultation  with  his  officers.  Everything  was  confusion.  In 
fantry,  artillery  and  wagon  trains  were  moving  in  chaos,  with  the 
one  purpose  of  getting  away  from  the  advancing  enemy;  officers 
searching  for  their  men,  and  privates  inquiring  for  the  whereabouts 
of  their  commands  ;  teams  rushing  back,  with  here  and  there  a 
baggage  wagon  overturned  in  the  deep  ditch  along  the  roadside, 
from  which  the  driver  had  cut  the  traces  and  ridden  away  upon  his 
horses  or  mules  to  the  rear.  It  must  have  been  with  a  degree  of 
painful  disappointment  and  humiliation  that  the  commanding  gen 
eral  witnessed  this  scene.  It  was  a  disorderly  retreat,  but  did  not 
approach  to  the  degree  of  a  panic,  as  in  the  case  of  the  first  battle 
of  Bull  Run.  Not  all  the  troops,  however,  were  thus  routed  and 
confused.  General  Sigel' s  and  other  commands  gave  the  enemy 
a  stubborn  retiring  fight,  affording  the  broken  troops  ample  time  to 
withdraw,  thus  saving  a  large  number  of  scattered  men  from  capture 

In  about  twenty  minutes  from  the  time  of  taking  the  second 
position,  the  battery  was  again  ordered  to  retire,  and  crossing  the 
stone  bridge  it  moved  up  the  Centreville  road.  The  march  was 
slow,  marked  by  numerous  halts  made  necessary  by  the  heavy  col 
umn  of  disorganized  troops,  baggage  wagons  and  artillery  trains 
which  blocked  the  road.  It  continued  until  after  midnight,  when 
the  battery  turned  into  a  field  not  far  from  Centreville,  and  bivou 
acked  until  morning.  The  next  day  it  took  a  position  in  one  of  the 
old  Confederate  earthworks  at  Centreville.  It  soon  received  orders 
to  move  to  Alexandria,  but  later  the  order  was  countermanded, 
and  the  men  and  horses  were  permitted  to  take  much  needed  rest 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  Long  trains  of  ambulances 
passed  up  the  turnpike,  loaded  with  the  wounded,  who  were  hur 
ried  off  to  the  Washington  hospitals. 

Some  rain  fell  on  the  morning  of  September  i,  and  the  men 
were  cold  and  hungry.  No  means  for  supplying  rations  were  at 
hand.  The  baggage  wagons  of  the  battery  had  left  in  the  rush  of 
the  day  previous,  as  had  nearly  all  of  the  wagon  trains  of  the  army. 
The  troops  were  fatigued  and  somewhat  dispirited.  The  whole 
army  seemed  to  smart  under  the  realization  that  it  had  received 
another  Bull  Run  defeat.  The  position  of  the  battery  was  changed 
several  times,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  it  moved  up  the  turnpike 
toward  Alexandria. 


68  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

"  It  was  soon  discovered  that  the  rebels  were  in  motion  to  strike  the  Union 
column  by  a  movement  upon  its  right  to  cut  off  its  retreat.  Reno's  Corps  was 
immediately  sent  to  meet  this  movement,  with  the  cavalry  in  advance,  and  was 
soon  joined  by  Stevens  and  Kearney.  The  two  armies  were  moving  on  diver 
gent  roads  and  the  lines  struck  at  Chantilly.  It  was  nightfall,  and  a  terrible 
thunderstorm  prevailed  ;  but  Kearney  and  Stevens  and  Reno,  three  impetuous 
leaders,  immediately  forming,  moved  upon  the  foe  and  fought  in  the  darkness. 
They  knew  nothing  of  his  strength  and  little  of  the  ground,  and  contended 
with  great  disadvantage." — Bates^  History  of  Penn"1  a  Vols. 

The  History  of  the  5ist  Pennsylvania  Regiment  gives  the  fol 
lowing  account  of  the  opening  of  this  battle  : 

"The  2ist  Massachusetts,  being  on  the  advance,  encountered  the  enemy 
first,  under  very  peculiar  circumstances.  A  brigade  of  rebel  infantry  was  tiling 
out  of  a  woods  into  the  Fairfax  road,  just  as  Colonel  Clark,  at  the  head  of 
his  regiment,  was  passing  the  point  into  which  the  enemy  were  filing.  The  two 
colonels  saluted  each  other,  as  each  officer  thought  they  were  both  of  the  same 
army  ;  and,  as  the  men  of  the  2 1st  Massachusetts  wore  overcoats  of  a  color 
near  those  worn  by  the  rebels,  the  delusion  was  complete.  The  two  colonels 
rode  along  together  for  a  few  yards  when  the  rebel  asked,  '  What's  your  regi 
ment,  Colonel  ?'  The  answer  was,  '  It's  the  2ist  Massachusetts.'  '  My  regi 
ment  is  the  —  —  Mississippi,  and  we  are  enemies,'  replied  the  rebel  colonel, 
and  with  his  men  made  a  fierce  onslaught  on  the  2 1st  Massachusetts,  capturing 
Colonel  Clark  and  a  number  of  his  men.  The  5 1st  Pennsylvania  and  the  5ist 
New  York  were  about  half  a  mile  in  the  rear,  accompanied  by  Durell's  Battery. 
The  battle  opened  as  if  by  magic.  The  battery  got  a  position  in  a  field  close 
to  the  road,  and  the  5 1st  was  ordered  to  its  support." 

Durell's  Battery  was  hurried  forward  and  entered  the  battle 
with  the  horses  on  a  full  gallop,  coming  into  battery  at  the  edge  of 
a  cornfield.  It  was  the  only  battery,  save  one,  engaged  on  this 
field.  All  the  troops  in  the  vicinity  were  soon  engaged.  Kearney 
and  Stevens'  commands  had  attacked  the  enemy  on  the  latter' s 
own  choice  of  ground.  A  hard  fight  took  place  for  the  possession 
of  the  cornfield,  but  Kearney  succeeded  in  driving  the  Confed 
erates  from  their  position.  As  Kearney's  men  were  following  up 
their  success,  their  gallant  commander  fell  pierced  by  a  bullet  and 
died  without  a  struggle.  General  Stevens  was  also  killed,  his  life 
less  body  being  carried  through  the  battery's  line  to  the  rear.  As 
the  battle  waxed  hot  the  rain  fell  in  sheets  which  threatened  to 
wet  every  grain  of  powder  ;  but  it  did  not  seem  to  dampen  the 
fury  of  the  fight  in  the  least.  It  raged  into  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  unhindered  by  the  storm,  and  ceased  only  when  Jackson's 
lines  were  driven  back. 

The  battery  had  almost  expended  its  last  shot.  The  cannon 
eers  drew  upon  the  ammunition  still  remaining  in  the  caisson  be- 


POPE'S  RETREAT — BULL  RUN  AND  CHANTILLV.  69 

longing  to  the  gun  which  had  been  disabled  at  Bull  Run,  and 
which  followed  the  battery  in  all  its  subsequent  movements  to 
Washington.  The  rain  continued  long  after  the  fighting  ceased, 
and  the  soldiers  lay  down  upon  the  ground,  weary,  wet  and  hun 
gry,  many  of  them  falling  asleep  in  the  pouring  rain,  unmindful  of 
the  pitiless  storm.  A  field  hospital  had  been  established  in  a  house 
and  barn  near  the  position  of  the  battery,  from  which  came  the 
sound  of  the  groans  of  the  wounded  and  dying,  adding  horror  to  the 
discomfort  and  gloom  of  the  situation.  The  battery  had  suffered 
no  loss  in  this  battle.  Sometime  after  midnight,  it  was  ordered  to 
move  to  the  Alexandria  turnpike,  and  proceeding  up  that  high 
way  a  distance  of  half  a  mile,  it  turned  into  a  field  and  bivou 
acked  until  daylight. 

The  weather  on  the  morning  of  September  2d,  was  clear  and 
very  cool.  The  troops  built  fires  around  which  they  gathered  in 
shivering  circles  to  dry  their  rain-soaked  clothes  by  the  warm  glow. 
As  soon  as  the  artillerists  got  the  bearing  of  the  country,  it  was 
discovered  that  they  were  near  the  scene  of  their  camp  while  on 
the  advance  with  McClellan  in  the  early  spring.  Soon  after  day 
light  the  march  toward  Washington  was  resumed.  Along  the  road 
there  were  numerous  evidences  of  the  hasty  retreat,  which  had 
been  made  by  the  wagon  trains.  Here  and  there  was  a  baggage 
wagon  which  had  been  foundered  along  the  roadside,  or  telescoped 
in  a  ditch,  and  army  stores  of  every  description  were  strewn  along 
the  highway.  The  march  was  continued,  with  few  halts,  to  Fair 
fax  Court  House,  where  the  battery  parked  for  a  few  hours,  after 
which  it  proceeded  to  Fairfax  Seminary,  within  two  miles  of  Alex 
andria,  where  it  encamped  late  in  the  afternoon. 

September  3d,  was  a  very  bright  and  cool  day,  and  as  the 
command  did  not  move,  the  jaded  and  famished  men  and  horses 
were  enabled  to  secure  some  much  needed  rest.  The  men  im 
proved  the  opportunity  to  wash  their  clothing  and  to  write  letters. 
The  baggage  wagons  came  in  during  the  day  and  the  command 
once  more  was  supplied  with  food  and  fodder.  The  teams  had 
traveled  all  night  of  the  ist,  by  a  different  road,  and  had  struck 
the  Potomac  River  nine  miles  below  Alexandria,  reaching  that  town 
toward  evening  on  the  2d.  Thence  they  found  their  way  finally 
to  the  battery. 

At  2  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  4th,  the  battery  was 
ordered  to  march  to  the  Washington  Arsenal,  to  refit  and  replenish 
the  ammunition  chests.  Passing  through  Alexandria  it  took  the 


yo  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

road  to  the  Long  Bridge,  which  was  so  blocked  with  wagon  trains 
as  to  compel  a  halt  of  two  hours  before  it  could  effect  a  crossing. 
It  did  not  reach  the  arsenal  grounds  until  10  o'clock  that  night. 
The  next  morning  the  men  found  that  they  were  in  a  beautiful 
green  and  shaded  park.  It  was  a  pleasant  change  from  the  expo 
sure  to  the  hot  sun,  and  the  dusty  and  bleak  resting  places  of  the 
Virginia  hills  and  vales,  and  was  greatly  enjoyed  by  the  war-worn 
soldiers,  after  the  strain  of  the  hard  campaign  just  closed.  Some 
of  the  men  took  the  opportunity  to  stroll  into  the  city,  but  the 
greater  number  preferred  to  remain  in  camp  and  rest. 

Various  rumors  had  reached  the  homes  of  the  men  concerning 
the  welfare  of  the  battery  in  the  late  battles.  At  Reading  it  was 
reported  that  it  had  been  terribly  cut  up,  and  again  that  Durell 
and  his  entire  command  had  been  captured.  About  seventy  citi 
zens  of  Reading  went  to  Washington  to  look  after  the  sick  and 
wounded,  and  search  for  friends  belonging  to  the  different  com 
mands  that  went  out  from  that  place.  Several  of  them  visited  the 
battery  on  the  night  of  its  arrival  in  the  arsenal  grounds,  among 
others,  the  father  of  Lieutenant  Mcllvain.  The  lieutenant  had 
shown  such  heroism  in  the  recent  battles,  as  to  find  himself  idol 
ized  by  the  men.  He  was  the  most  conspicuously  cool,  clear 
headed  and  courageous  officer  of  the  command.  He  deserved  the 
confidence  and  fealty  of  his  men,  who  were  quick  to  render  him 
what  was  due. 


THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — SOUTH  MOUNTAIN.  71 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — SOUTH  MOUNTAIN. 

A 'I'  his  own  request  General  Pope  was  now  relieved  of  the 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  General 
McClellan  was  restored. 

On  the  morning  of  the  yth  the  battery  was  taken  into  the 
arsenal  buildings,  where  the  gun  that  had  been  dismounted  at  Bull 
Run  by  a  Confederate  shot,  was  turned  in  and  a  new  one  drawn 
by  the  third  detachment,  all  the  ammunition  chests  filled  with  pro 
jectiles  and  other  needs  of  the  battery  supplied.  In  the  afternoon 
orders  were  given  to  move,  and  the  battery  inarched  through  the 
city  and  beyond  into  Maryland,  encamping  near  Leesburg  at  10 
o'clock  that  night.  The  country  presented  a  different  appearance 
from  that  which  had  just  been  left  in  Virginia,  which  had  been 
stripped  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  war.  Here  the  fences  were  all  up, 
the  buildings  in  good  repair  and  there  was  an  abundance  of  fruit. 
It  was  evident  to  the  soldiers  that  it  had  not  been  in  the  line  of  an 
army's  march.  And  it  is  equally  certain  that  it  did  not  present  an 
entirely  unmolested  appearance  after  the  Union  army  had  passed 
by,  for  soldiers  would  forage  upon  fruit  and  vegetables  and  use 
fence  rails  to  build  their  camp  fires. 

The  next  morning  the  battery  was  moved  about  half  a  mile, 
where  orders  were  given  to  fix  up  a  camp,  as  though  it  was  expected 
that  some  time  would  be  spent  at  that  place.  Here  the  men  for 
aged  freely  upon  the  surrounding  country  and  brought  into  the 
camp  a  good  supply  of  fruit,  potatoes,  corn,  etc. 

But  the  march  was  again  taken  up  the  next  morning,  passing 
through  Mechanicsville  and  Brookville,  the  battery  parking  its 
guns  a  short  distance  beyond  the  latter  place  early  in  the  afternoon. 
The  citizens  of  Brookville  welcomed  the  marching  column  with 
waving  flags  and  handkerchiefs.  The  troops  here  learned  that  they 
were  being  moved  northward  to  head  off  the  Confederates,  who 
had  crossed  into  Maryland. 

The  battery  reveille  sounded  early  on  the  morning  of  the  loth, 
but  no  marching  orders  following,  the  men  were  soon  engaged  in 
cooking  green  corn  and  new  potatoes,  and  foraging  upon  the  peach 


72  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

orchards.  Heavy  columns  of  troops  passed  by  and  pressed  on 
nearly  all  day  long. 

On  the  nth,  a  march  of  about  twelve  miles  was  made,  en 
camping  for  the  night  near  Damascus.  It  was  resumed  the  next 
morning  passing  through  several  small  towns,  the  citizens  of  which 
hailed  the  troops  with  joy.  Squads  of  the  Confederate  cavalry  had 
been  seen  scouting  through  this  section  the  day  previous,  and  upon 
reaching  New  Market  the  artillerists  heard  the  sound  of  cannon 
ading  in  the  distance.  They  were  now  hurried  forward  to  the  out 
skirts  of  Frederick,  where  the  infantry  in  advance  had  that  after 
noon  driven  the  enemy  from  that  city. 

The  morning  of  the  i3th  opened  with  the  sound  of  continu 
ous  cannonading  at  the  front,  strong  indication  of  an  impending 
battle.  Word  came  back  to  the  troops  that  General  Franklin's 
Division  was  engaging  the  Confederates  at  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain, 
a  spur  of  the  South  Mountain  range.  They  were  dislodged  late  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  battery  was  ordered  forward  and  passed 
through  Frederick  City.  The  march  through  this  town  was  a  per 
fect  ovation.  The  citizens  were  greatly  rejoiced  at  the  repulse  of 
Jackson's  troops  and  their  relief  from  the  domination  of  the  Con 
federate  soldiery.  It  was  a  scene,  on  a  much  smaller  scale,  similar 
to  that  witnessed  on  the  march  through  Philadelphia  It  appeared 
more  like  a  holiday  parade  than  the  sober  work  of  marching  on  to 
battle.  Hundreds  of  ladies  waved  flags  and  handkerchiefs  from 
windows  and  doors  as  the  troops  marched  by,  and  buckets  of  water 
were  brought  to  the  column  to  quench  the  thirst  of  the  soldiers — for 
the  day  was  hot.  Nearly  every  other  house  bore  a  flag,  and  it  was 
hard  to  conceive  how  Jackson  recruited  1700  men  for  his  ranks  in 
such  a  loyal  place,  as  he  was  reported  to  have  done.  The  fact  is, 
that  only  from  200  to  300  went  with  the  Confederates,  although 
recruiting  offices  were  opened  and  all  manner  of  inducement  was 
offered  for  enlistments.  The  Confederate  loss  by  desertion  about 
equalled  the  number  of  recruits.  The  march  was  continued  over 
Sugar  Loaf  Mountain,  the  scene  of  the  battle  of  that  day,  to 
Midclletown,  where  the  battery  bivouacked  about  8  o'clock  in  the 
evening. 

Sunday  morning,  the  i4th,  opened  with  heavy  cannonading 
in  front.  The  Confederates  were  contesting  with  the  Union 
advance  for  the  passage  through  the  South  Mountain.  General 
Cox's  Western  Division  came  up  and  was  added  to  Burnside's 
Ninth  Army  Corps,  which  contained  excellent  fighting  material, 


THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — SOUTH  MOUNTAIN.  73 

and  a  number  of  men  who,  after  the  war,  became  prominent  in 
civil  life  and  national  affairs  ;  two  of  whom  have  been  exalted  to 
the  highest  place  within  the  gift  of  the  people — namely,  Colonel 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  Private  William  McKinley,  Jr.,  both  of 
the  23rd  Ohio  Volunteers. 

The  troops  of  General  McClellan's  Peninsular  Army  were 
marching  in  heavy  columns  on  parallel  roads  toward  the  mountain, 
their  bright  bayonets  flashing  in  the  sunlight,  presenting  a  brilliant 
spectacle.  The  magnificent  scene  was  more  suggestive  of  a  grand 
military  review  than  of  a  march  to  battle. 

The  fighting  by  the  advance  body  of  troops  had  begun  early 
in  the  morning,  the  sound  of  the  conflict  being  distinctly  heard  at 
Middletown,  several  miles  distant.  It  was  about  noon  when  the 
battery  was  ordered  forward.  Marching  through  the  town,  Burn- 
side's  command  left  the  Sharpsburg  turnpike  by  a  mountain  road 
which  forks  off  to  the  left,  and  which  was  at  that  time  rough  with 
stones  and  ruts,  and  narrow  as  a  farm  lane.  It  was  a  long,  steep 
hill,  and  tried  the  wind  of  horses  and  men.  Approaching  the  sum 
mit  and  drawing  within  range  of  the  enemy's  fire,  which  was  grow 
ing  very  heavy,  the  battery  was  hurried  forward  on  a  gallop  and 
plunged  into  the  battle. 

Taking  the  position  of  Cook's  Massachusetts  Battery,  the  guns 
of  which  were  posted  in  the  edge  of  a  woods  to  the  right  of  the 
road,  and  from  which  its  men  had  been  driven  by  a  terrific  cross 
fire  but  a  few  minutes  before,  Durell's  artillerists  speedily  got  their 
guns  "in  battery  "  between  the  deserted  guns,  and  opened  a  vig 
orous  fire  upon  the  enemy.  They  were  successful,  twice  silencing 
and  driving  back  a  Confederate  battery,  and  harrassing  the  enemy's 
infantry  as  it  advanced  on  the  Union  line  on  the  right  of  their 
position.  The  reply  of  the  enemy's  artillery  was  for  a  time  very 
heaivy,  during  which  two  limbs  of  the  trees  under  which  the  bat 
tery  was  posted  were  cut  off — one  quite  a  heavy  one,  which  came 
down  upon  Captain  Durell.  It  knocked  him  to  the  ground ;  but, 
besides  a  bruise  or  two,  did  not  seriously  injure  him. 

Cook's  batterymen,  who  were  hugging  the  ground  closely  on 
the  slope  of  the  mountain  some  distance  in  rear  of  their  guns,  came 
up  soon  after  Durell  had  commenced  firing  and  ran  their  pieces  off 
by  hand  to  the  rear.  A  masked  battery  had  opened  a  fire  of  can 
ister  upon  them  after  they  had  unlimbered  their  pieces,  and  killed 
and  wounded  a  number  of  men  before  they  could  fire  a  shot. 


74  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

At  the  first  lull  in  the  battle  Durell's  men  climbed  the  fence 
in  front  of  their  position  into  a  sweet  potato  patch,  and  burrowed 
them  out  with  their  hands.  While  thus  engaged,  the  enemy  made 
another  attack  with  artillery  and  an  advancing  column  of  infantry, 
when  all  hands  sprang  to  their  posts  and  renewed  the  fight.  Sev 
eral  of  the  battery's  shells  burst  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  and 
made  wide  gaps  in  the  lines  at  which  he  turned  and  fled  to  the 
woods  in  his  rear.  Several  such  attempts  to  drive  the  Union  line 
back  were  made,  but  each  with  the  same  unsuccessful  result. 

It  was  now  near  sunset  and  all  the  fighting  had  ceased  but 
that  upon  the  picket  lines.  The  men  had  an  opportunity  to  look 
over  the  field  and  care  for  the  wounded,  who  could  not  be  at  once 
taken  away  to  the  hospital.  The  ambulances  had  made  several 
trips  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  loaded  with  mangled  human 
freight,  but  the  battle-ground  was  still  strewn  with  the  dead  and 
wounded,  at  some  points  the  blue  and  gray  lying  mingled  together 
A  stone  wall,  starting  at  the  end  of  the  fence  separating  the  woods 
from  the  sweet  potato  patch,  ran  up  upon  one  side  of  the  road, 
the  bed  of  which  had  been  washed  down  to  the  depth  of  several 
feet  by  frequent  rain  to  the  width* of  wagon  tracks.  This  sunken 
road  and  stone  wall  had  been  the  position  of  a  Confederate  brigade. 
Early  in  the  battle  the  iyth  Michigan,  a  new  regiment,  full  of 
enthusiasm,  made  a  most  gallant  charge  diagonally  across  the  road 
from  left  to  right,  in  the  face  of  a  terrible  fire,  which  swept  the 
ranks  at  every  step ;  but  the  Confederates  were  driven  from  their 
strong  position  and  soon  disappeared  in  the  woods  beyond.  Here 
the  dead  and  wounded  of  both  sides  almost  covered  the  roadway, 
and  at  some  points  were  lying  over  each  other. 

Just  across  the  road  from  the  battery's  position  stood  a  moun 
tain  cabin,  which  was  found  to  be  occupied  by  an  elderly  woman 
and  her  daughter,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  cellar  when  the 
battle  opened.  Several  cannon  balls  had  penetrated  the  roof  of 
the  house,  and  the  exposed  sides  of  the  building  were  thickly  dotted 
with  the  marks  of  the  heavy  musketry.  Some  of  the  Union  soldiers 
discovered  the  women  in  the  course  of  their  investigations  of  the 
cabin,  still  under  cover  of  the  cellar  wall,  and  almost  distracted 
with  fear.  The  soldiers  assured  them  that  the  danger  was  past, 
when  they  timidly  came  forth  from  the  cellar. 

Firing  along  the  picket  line  was  still  kept  up,  which  occasion 
ally  swelled  to  almost  the  importance  of  an  engagement  and  then 
again  subsided.  General  Jesse  L.  Reno,  commanding  the  Second 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MAJOR-GENERAL  JESSE   L.    RENO 


THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — SOUTH  MOUNTAIN.  75 

Division  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  had  gone  far  in  advance  to  make  a 
personal  reconnoissance,  when  he  was  shot,  and  carried  back  through 
the  line  of  his  troops  about  dusk  in  an  ambulance,  mortally  wounded. 
He  died  that  night.  He  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  fearless,  able  and 
beloved  by  his  men.  The  command  of  the  division  fell  to  General 
Sturgis. 

Soon  after  the  darkness  of  night  had  set.  in,  the  Confederates 
made  another  assault  upon  Cox's  Division,  which  held  the  left  of 
the  Union  line,  and  a  fierce  battle  raged  for  half  an  hour,  when  it 
ended  by  the  repulse  of  the  enemy.  The  battery  was,  in  this  action, 
exposed  to  a  heavy  musketry  fire,  and  participated  in  the  engage 
ment  by  opening  upon  the  woods  in  front  and  left  with  time  shell. 
It  expended  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  rounds  of  ammunition  in 
this  battle. 

Soon  after  the  termination  of  the  night  assault,  all  the  guns  of 
the  battery  were  ordered  to  retire  down  the  mountain  except  the  two 
pieces  of  the  left  section,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Mcllvain, 
who  was  instructed  to  hold  the  position.  About  midnight  orders 
came  to  advance  one  piece  to  the  picket  line.  The  Lieutenant 
detailed  Sergeant  Sailor  to  follow  him  with  his  detachment  of  men 
and  a  gun  and  proceeded  by  the  sunken  road,  conducted  by  a  staff 
officer.  It  was  necessary  for  the  cannoneers  to  proceed  in  advance 
of  the  horses  and  pick  up  the  dead  bodies  lying  in  the  sunken  road, 
and  place  them  on  either  bank  of  the  roadside,  to  prevent  the 
bodies  from  being  mangled  by  the  tramp  of  the  horses  and  crushed 
by  the  wheels  of  the  gun-carriage.  This  duty  of  clearing  the  road 
of  the  slain  was  performed  to  a  distance  of  about  three  hundred  yards, 
when  a  turn  to  the  left  was  made  from  the  road  into  a  field,  dotted 
with  the  forms  of  the  dead.  Orders  were  given  that  there  should 
be  no  speaking  above  a  whisper  and  that  the  movements  of  the 
horses  and  gun-carriage  be  made  as  slowly  and  noiselessly  as  possible. 
Upon  reaching  the  assigned  post  the  piece  was  unlimbered  and  a 
double  charge  of  canister  held  in  readiness  at  the  mouth  of  the 
cannon  to  be  instantly  rammed  home  and  discharged  at  the  first 
indication  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  It  was  a  trying  state  of  sus 
pense  to  the  men,  and  above  all,  distressing  to  hear  the  groans  and  cries 
of  the  wounded  lying  beyond  the  lines,  calling  for  help  to  come  where 
no  one  dare  approach  to  their  aid  or  rescue.  The  detachment  was 
held  in  this  position,  possibly  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  though  it 
seemed  an  hour,  when  it  was  ordered  to  retire  to  its  former  posi 
tion  with  the  other  detachment  of  its  section,  which  command  was 


76  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

gladly  received  and  as  carefully  and  noiselessly  obeyed  as  the  order 
to  advance  had  been. 

After  the  return  from  the  midnight  reconnoitre  the  men  sought 
a  place  to  sleep.  But  six  men  of  the  twenty-five  comprising  the 
two  gun  detachments  had  overcoats  and  blankets  with  them,  the 
knap-acks  of  the  other  men  having  been  taken  with  the  caissons, 
to  which  they  were  fastened,  down  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 
The  night  upon  this  elevated  position  was  quite  cold,  and  no  fire 
was  permitted,  as  that  might  expose  the  command  to  the  fire  of  the 
enemy.  So  the  tarpaulins  were  taken  from  the  tops  of  the  ammu 
nition  chests,  spread  upon  the  ground  between  the  two  pieces, 
and  the  officers  and  men  laid  down  upon  the  ground  together 
under  the  cover  of  the  tarpaulins  and  the  protection  of  two  senti 
nels  The  weary  soldiers  soon  fell  asleep,  but  had  not  been  long 
under  the  influence  of  "  Nature's  sweet  restorer,"  when  one  of 
their  number,  lying  at  the  end  of  the  covering  was  awakened  by  the 
sudden  rise  of  the  tarpaulin,  which  exposed  his  body  to  the  cold 
night  air.  The  sleepy  soldier,  upon  a  second  glance,  recognized 
the  disturber  of  his  rest  to  be  General  Sturgis.  The  general  was 
no  better  prepared  for  a  night's  lodging  than  his  men  and  wanted 
to  lie  down  then  and  there.  The  soldier  arose,  prepared  as  good 
a  bed  for  the  division  commander  as  his  limited  resources  could 
supply,  bade  the  general  to  lie  down,  covered  him  over  with  the 
tarpaulin,  and  shivered  through  the  remainder  of  the  night  as  best 
he  could. 

It  was  expected  that  the  battle  would  be  renewed  at  the  break 
of  day  ;  but  all  was  quiet  in  front,  not  even  the  sound  of 
an  occasional  shot  upon  the  picket  line  being  heard.  The  Con 
federates  had  retired  from  the  field  during  the  night.  The  two 
sections  which  had  been  sent  to  the  rear  the  evening  before 
returned  in  the  morning,  accompanied  by  the  baggage  wagons. 
From  them  a  good  supply  of  black  coffee,  pork  and  hard  bread 
was  served  to  the  men  who  had  performed  night  duty,  and  were 
soon  ready  to  join  their  comrades  in  roaming  over  the  battlefield 
and  extending  a  helping  hand  to  the  wounded  who  were  still  plen 
tifully  scattered  over  the  field. 

About  midday  Generals  McClellan  and  Burnside  came  up  the 
mountain  road  together,  and  were  lustily  cheered  by  the  troops  as 
they  rode  through  the  lines  to  the  front.  At  i  o'clock  the  battery 
advanced  toward  Sharpsburg  and  bivouacked  in  a  corn-stubble  field 
for  the  night. 


MAP   OF   ANTIETAM    BATTLEFIELD 


THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — ANTIETAM  77 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — ANTIETAM. 

^  I  MiK  enemies'  shell  bursting  near  the  battery  sounded  the 
JL  reveille  on  the  morning  of  the  i6th.  The  Confederates 
had  opened  their  batteries  on  the  Union  line  of  battle, 
which  at  this  point  was  posted  upon  the  hills  overlooking  An  tie  tarn 
Creek,  many  of  their  shells  over-reaching  the  mark  and  bursting 
among  the  troops  lying  in  reserve.  One  shell  burst  in  a  line  of 
infantry  stationed  in  close  proximity  to  the  battery  and  killed  and 
wounded  a  number  of  men.  The  battery  was  ordered  to  the  front 
in  the  afternoon  and  took  a  position  on  the  right  of  the  Ninth 
Corps'  line  in  the  edge  of  the  woods,  on  a  road  leading  to  Stone 
Bridge,  No,  3,  and  distant  about  half  a  mile  from  the  Barn  Hos 
pital.  But  it  was  not  called  upon  to  open  its  guns  that  day,  as  the 
fighting  had  subsided  on  this  portion  of  the  line  and  been  directed 
on  the  Union  right  where  General  Hooker  was  engaging  the  enemy 
in  force.  At  dusk  the  battery  withdrew  from  its  position  and 
marched  back  for  the  night,  parking  its  guns  near  the  corps  hos 
pital.  Here  the  men  and  horses  enjoyed  a  night  of  good  rest  upon 
a  sod  field,  a  great  improvement  over  the  ridges  of  corn-stubble 
upon  which  they  had  lain  the  night  previous. 

Soon  after  daylight  on  the  lyth,  the  enemy  opened  the  battle 
with  a  vigorous  fire  of  artillery,  filling  the  air  with  flying  and  burst 
ing  missiles,  a  number  of  which  exploded  in  and  near  the  bivouac, 
but  no  one  was  hurt.  The  men  were  engaged  in  the  preparation  of 
breakfast,  which  was  seized  from  the  fire  and  partaken  of  with  the 
utmost  despatch.  Captain  Durell  at  once  shouted  "Boots  and 
Saddles,"  not  waiting  for  the  buglers  to  sound  the  call.  All  was 
bustle  and  excitement  in  the  camp  ;  the  men  packing  up,  harness 
ing  and  hitching  the  horses  to  the  gun-carriages  and  eating  break 
fast,  all  at  the  same  time.  The  battery  immediately  moved  to  the 
top  of  the  hill  in  front,  overlooking  Antietam  Creek  and  Sharpsburg, 
upon  which  the  line  of  batteries  comprising  the  artillery  of  Syke's 
Division  of  Regulars  was  posted.  Taking  position  upon  their  left 
Durell' s  Battery  opened  upon  the  enemy's  belching  guns.  The 
cannonading  was  very  heavy,  each  side  appearing  to  employ  all  the 


78  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

guns  at  their  command,  and  to  use  them  with  the  utmost  vigor. 
The  air  seemed  to  be  filled  with  shrieking  missiles,  and  there  was 
ocular  evidence  on  every  hand  that  somebody  was  getting  hurt. 
The  Confederate  artillery,  which,  as  a  whole,  was  inferior  to  that 
of  the  Union  army,  was  silenced  in  an  hour.  During  the  heaviest 
part  of  the  battle  of  the  "  big  guns,"  General  Hunt,  chief  of  artil 
lery  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  rode  along  the  line  and  gave 
orders  to  the  commanders  of  batteries  to  fire  slowly  and  deliberately  ; 
stating  that  rapid  firing  did  little  execution  and  was  a  waste  of 
ammunition.  He  was  a  small  grizzly  man  with  an  effeminate  voice, 
but  he  was  an  experienced  and  able  artillerist.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  the  officers  and  men  of  the  battery  heeded  his  advice  and 
accomplished  better  results. 

Durell's  Battery  engaged  a  Confederate  battery  in  its  imme 
diate  front  and  silenced  it,  driving  the  men  from  their  guns.  Durell 
then  slackened  the  fire  of  his  guns,  upon  which  the  men  of  the 
opposing  battery  were  seen  to  return  by  ones  and  twos  and  renewed 
the  fight.  Again  were  their  guns  silenced  and  their  cannoneers 
driven  away.  These  efforts  of  the  opposing  battery  to  renew  the 
fight  were  repeated  several  times,  when  finally  a  shot  struck  one  of 
their  caissons  and  blew  it  up,  creating  such  havoc  and  demoralization 
among  the  Confederates  that  all  of  their  number  that  could  move 
fled  from  the  field.  It  has  been  a  much  mooted  question  among 
the  survivors  of  Durell's  Battery,  as  to  whom  of  the  two  gunners 
of  the  left  section  belongs  the  honor  of  firing  the  destructive  shot, 
as  the  two  guns  were  discharged  about  the  same  instant.  The 
gunners  were  Corporal  Robert  Conard,  of  Bucks  County,  serving 
the  third  gun,  and  Corporal  John  O.  Burdan,  of  Berks  County, 
serving  the  fourth  gun — both  skillful  marksmen.  The  evidence  of 
the  comrades,  however,  preponderates  in  support  of  the  claim  that 
Corporal  Conard  blew  up  the  enemy's  caisson. 

After  the  Confederate  artillery  had  been  silenced,  the  battery's 
fire  was  directed  upon  the  broken  and  retiring  ranks  of  the  enemy, 
who  were  being  driven  back  on  the  right  by  Hooker's  vigorous 
attack.  The  battery's  elevated  position  on  the  Antietam  Hills 
afforded  a  view  of  the  greater  part  of  the  battle-field,  from  which 
it  was  clearly  seen  that  the  enemy's  lines  were  badly  broken.  They 
were  falling  back  over  i\  certain  large,  newly  plowed  field  in  great 
numbers.  Into  this  mass  of  demoralized  troops  the  battery  hurled 
its  ten-pound  Parrott  projectiles  with  telling  effect.  The  distance 
\vas  about  2640  yards  or  i*4  miles.  While  thus  engaged  the  gun- 


THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — ANTIETAM.  79 

tiers'  attention  was  suddenly  drawn  to  the  rising  of  heavy  clouds  of 
dust  above  the  top  of  the  woods  within  the  enemy's  line  in  front, 
which  proved  to  have  been  caused  by  the  march  of  Jackson's  troops 
from  Harper's  Ferry,  coming  up  on  a  double-quick  to  reinforce 
Lee's  sorely  pressed  left.  The  fire  of  DurelPs  guns  was  now 
directed  to  the  vicinity  of  the  clouds  of  dust,  and  kept  up  vigor 
ously  until  it  disappeared.  A  white  horse,  supposed  to  be  mounted 
by  a  Confederate  officer  of  high  rank,  appeared  on  a  ridge  in  the 
distance  to  the  right.  One  of  DurelPs  gun's  was  aimed  at  the 
horse  and  fired,  the  shot  taking  effect.  From  the  following  story, 
related  by  General  James  Longstreet,  in  Leaders  and  Battles  of  the 
Civil  War,  it  appears  that  General  D.  H.  Hill  was  the  target  for 
this  shot  : 

"  During  the  progress  of  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  General  Lee  and  I  were 
riding  along  my  line  and  1).  H.  Hill's,  when  we  received  a  report  of  move 
ments  of  the  enemy  and  started  up  the  ridge  to  make  a  reconnoissance.  Gen 
eral  Lee  and  I  dismounted,  but  Hill  declined  to  do  so.  I  said  to  Hill,  '  If  you 
insist  on  riding  up  there  and  drawing  the  fire,  give  us  a  little  interval  so  that  we 
may  not  be  in  the  line  of  the  fire,  when  they  open  upon  you.'  General  Lee 
and  I  stood  on  the  top  of  the  crest  with  our  glasses,  looking  at  the  movements 
of  the  Federals  on  the  rear  left.  After  a  moment  I  turned  my  glass  to  the 
right— the  Federal  left.  As  I  did  so,  I  noticed  a  puff  of  white  smoke  from 
the  mouth  of  a  cannon.  'There  is  a  shot  for  you,'  I  ?aid  to  General  Hill. 
The  gunner  was  a  mile  away,  and  the  cannon  shot  came  whisking  through  the 
air  for  three  or  four  seconds  and  took  off  the  front  legs  of  the  horse  that  Hill 
sat  on  and  let  the  animal  down  upon  his  stumps.  The  horse's  head  was  so 
low  and  his  croup  so  high  that  Hill  was  in  a  most  ludicrous  position.  With 
one  foot  in  the  stirrup  he  made  several  efforts  to  get  the  other  leg  over  the 
croup  but  failed.  Finally  we  prevailed  upon  him  to  try  the  other  end  of  the 
horse,  and  he  got  down.  He  had  a  third  horse  shot  under  him  before  the 
close  of  the  battle.  That  shot  at  Hill  was  the  second  best  shot  I  ever  saw. 
The  best  was  at  Yorktown.  There  a  Federal  officer  came  out  in  front  of  our 
line,  and  sitting  down  to  his  little  platting-table  began  to  make  a  map.  One  of 
our  officers  carefully  sighted  a  gun,  touched  it  off,  and  dropped  a  shell  into  the 
hands  of  the  man  at  the  little  table.'' 

Soon  after  the  centre  section,  tinder  command  of  Lieutenant 
George  W.  Silvis,  was  ordered  to  the  left  to  support  the  infantry  of 
the  brigade,  which  was  engaged  in  a  fierce  fight  for  the  possession 
of  the  bridge.  The  cannoneers  had  just  completed  the  work  of 
replenishing  the  ammunition  chests  with  projectiles  when  the  order 
was  received.  Moving  down  the  slope,  the  section  passed  through 
the  orchard  adjoining  a  farm  house  near  the  bridge  and  along  the 
west  side  of  the  road  to  within  thirty  yards  below  the  end  of  the 
south  turn  of  the  road,  from  which  point  it  was  assisted  up  the 


8o  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

steep  rise  through  a  fringe  of  woods  by  as  many  infantrymen  from 
the  column  in  the  road  as  could  get  hold  of  horses,  harness  and 
carriage.  Having  gained  the  crest  of  the  hill,  it  advanced  into  an 
open  field  a  short  distance,  and  went  into  battery  for  the  purpose 
of  shelling  the  enemy  who  occupied  stone  walls  and  trees  upon  the 
bluffs  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  Immediately  the  section 
was  subjected  to  a  close  and  rapid  fire  from  an  unseen  battery  on 
its  right  flank,  distant  some  600  or  800  yards.  The  smoke  of  the 
enemy's  guns  was  hidden  from  view  by  the  woods  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  stream. 

But  Hartranft's  command  had  carried  the  bridge  and  the  rear 
of  the  5ist  New  York,  which  was  in  close  support  of  the  5  ist  Penn 
sylvania  Regiment,  was  crossing  when  the  section  came  into  posi 
tion.  Lieutenant  Silvis  was  therefore  ordered  not  to  fire,  but  to 
hold  his  command  in  readiness  to  follow  the  infantry  across  the 
bridge. 

"The bridge  is  a  stone   structure  of  several   arches.     The  valley  in  which 

the  stream  runs  is  quite  narrow,  the  steep  slope  on  the  right  bank  appi caching 
to  the  water's  edge.  In  this  slope  the  roadway  is  scarped,  running  both  ways 
from  the  bridge  and  passing  to  the  higher  land  above  by  ascending  through 
ravines.  On  the  hillside  immediately  above  the  bridge  was  a  strong  stone  fence 
running  parallel  to  the  stream  ;  the  turns  of  the  roadway  were  covered  with  rifle 
pits  and  breastworks  made  of  rails  and  stone,  all  of  which  defences,  as  well  as 
the  woods  which  covered  the  slope,  were  filled  with  the  enemy's  infantry  and 
sharpshooters.  Besides  the  infantry  defences,  batteries  were  placed  to  enfilade 
the  bridge  and  all  of  its  approaches." — General  Cox's  Official  Report. 

"  Against  this  position,  strong  by  nature,  rendered  doubly  strong  by  art,  the 
nth  Connecticut  and  Crook's  Brigade,  supported  by  Sturgis'  Division,  were 
ordered  to  the  assault.  As  this  force  advanced  up  the  open  valley,  by  the  road 
which  leads  along  the  river  bank  to  the  bridge,  it  was  exposed  to  so  warm  a  fire 
from  the  opposite  heights,  alive  with  the  enemy,  that  it  was  forced  to  halt  and 
reply.  Sturgis'  troops  reached  the  head  of  the  bridge,  and  the  2nd  Maryland 
and  the  6th  New  Hampshire  charged  at  double-quick  with  fixed  bayonets  ;  but 
the  concentrated  fire  of  the  enemy  upon  them  forced  them  to  fall  back.  After 
repeated  efforts  these  regiments  were  withdrawn. 

"  Burnside,  nettled  at  the  failure  of  this  attempt,  and  the  consequent  delay 
of  his  columns,  and  knowing  full  well  in  whom  he  could  trust,  ordered  forward 
the  5ist.  General  Ferrero  dashing  up  to  the  regiment,  said  :  'General  Burn- 
side  orders  the  5 1st  Pennsylvania  to  storm  the  bridge.'  Colonel  Hartranft, 
avoiding  the  road  by  the  river  bank,  led  his  men  in  the  rear  of  the  heights  over 
looking  the  river,  until  he  arrived  opposite  the  bridge,  when  he  moved  slowly 
down  the  slope  for  the  crossing.  The  instant  his  men  came  into  the  open 
ground  in  the  valley  they  received  a  withering  fire  from  the  enemy's  well-posted 
infantry,  and  many  fell.  A  fence  skirting  the  road  pro\ed  a  serious  impedi 
ment,  and  in  crossing  it  the  men  were  particularly  exposed.  Here  fell  Captains 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — ANTIETAM.  81 

Bolton  and  Hart,  severely  wounded,  a  serious  loss  at  this  juncture.  Unheed 
ing  the  enemy's  bullets  or  the  obstructions  in  the  way  the  column  pressed  for 
ward  with  a  determined  front  and  made  straight  for  the  bridge.  As  they 
entered  a  storm  of  missiles  swept  it  ;  but  no  danger  could  stay  the  tide  of  living 
valor.  Hartranft,  who  led  the  way,  paused  in  the  midst  and  was  hastening  on 
the  rear  of  his  column,  when  he  was  joined  by  Colonel  Potter,  with  the  gallant 
5 1st  New  York.  With  a  shout  that  rang  out  above  the  noise  of  battle,  the 
two  columns  rushed  forward  and  were  soon  firmly  established  on  the  thither 
bank.  The  bridge  was  carried." — Bates'  History  Pa.  Vols. 

A  regiment  was  quickly  advanced  and  took  position  on  the 
heights  commanding  the  bridge  and  its  approaches,  driving  out  the 
enemy  and  rendering  the  crossing  for  infantry  secure.  The  remain 
ing  regiments  of  the  Second  Brigade  then,  crossed,  followed  by  the 
centre  section  of  Durell's  Battery  which  was  the  first  artillery  to 
to  cross  the  bridge. 

On  reaching  the  south  side  of  the  stream,  Lieutenant  Silvis 
proceeded  with  the  section  up  the  road  toward  Sharpsburg.  Two 
courses  led  from  the  bridge ;  the  one  turning  to  the  right  leading 
for  a  short  distance  along  the  stream  and  then  running  over  the 
hills  to  the  town  ;  the  other,  a  private  road  to  the  left,  bending 
away  from  the  stream  a  short  distance  below  the  bridge  and  wind 
ing  through  a  basin  to  a  farm  house  a  short  distance  above.  The 
section  took  the  former  course  and  proceeded  up  the  road  to  the 
foot  of  a  steep  hill,  the  crest  of  which  was  round,  hard  and  smooth, 
upon  which  it  was  impossible  to  hold  a  gun  without  chocks,  and 
from  which  it  would  recoil  to  the  bottom  if  discharged. 

The  section  was  now  in  advance  of  all  other  troops.  The 
road  scarped  at  every  point  in  view,  from  four  to  five  feet  upward, 
so  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  out  of  it  on  either  side.  It  was  the 
opinion  of  the  lieutenant  and  his  sergeants  that  if  the  enemy 
advanced  over  the  crest  they  would  be  destroyed  before  a  useful 
shot  could  be  fired  from  the  guns.  No  doubt  Lieutenant  Silvis 
performed  a  meritorious  service  at  this  juncture,  when  he  com 
manded  the  guns  to  be  unlimbered,  reversed,  limbered  up,  and 
marched  back.  The  road  was  so  narrow,  that  in  executing  this 
movement  the  cannoneers  were  obliged  to  run  one  wheel  of  each 
gun-carriage  up  the  sloping  bank  of  the  roadside  to  enable  the 
limbers  to  pass. 

As  Lieutenant  Silvis,  riding  in  his  place  in  advance  of  his  guns, 
approached  the  bridge,  he  was  joined  by  Captain  Ravolle,  division 
chief  of  artillery,  and,  without  halting,  the  section  passed  along 
the  road  leading  off  to  the  left  from  the  bridge,  entered  the  first 


82  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

field  to  the  right  and  halted  below  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  Here 
the  section  was  again  without  infantry  support.  All  was  quiet ;  no 
enemy  was  in  sight  ;  but  they  were  supposed  to  be  posted  beyond 
the  crest. 

Captain  Ravolle  and  Lieutenant  Silvis  crept  along  a  fence  near 
by,  to  the  high  ground,  part  of  the  way  on  hands  and  feet,  crouch 
ing  quite  low.  Corporals  Carver  and  Buckman  also  went  forward 
to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  position.  Crawling  to  the  crest  of  the 
ridge  and  taking  a  view  of  the  front,  they  returned  and  reported 
that  the  command  was  in  a  fair  way  of  being  captured,  should  the 
enemy  advance  before  infantry  support  arrived.  After  the  officers 
had  taken  a  look  over  the  ground  in  their  front,  they  returned, 
and  Captain  Ravolle  ordered  the  guns  to  be  unlimbered  ;  quietly 
gave  the  gunners  the  elevation  and  time,  remarking,  ' '  Their  guns 
are  up  there.  We  will  load,  run  the  guns  by  hand  to  the  front 
and  give  them  the  first  shot,  anyway." 

But,  on  second  thought,  he  concluded  that  it  would  not  be 
prudent  to  open  fire  at  that  time,  as  it  would  prematurely  disclose 
the  position  of  the  section  to  no  good  purpose  and  interfere  with 
the  quiet  formation  of  the  line  of  battle  along  the  lower  crest  in 
the  fields  to  the  left.  The  infantry  was  then  forming  in  line  of 
battle  along  the  slope  several  hundred  yards  in  the  rear,  and  soon 
advanced.  A  skirmisher  or  sharpshooter  attempted  to  reach  a  log 
lying  in  the  plowed  field  beyond  the  fence,  close  to  the  one  tree 
in  it.  He  had  not  advanced  more  than  twenty  yards  before  the 
enemy's  bullets  began  to  strike  about  him,  disclosing  the  enemy's 
proximity  and  opening  another  stage  of  the  battle. 

Late  in  the  forenoon,  Captain  Durell,  with  the  other  four 
guns  of  his  battery,  moved  to  the  bridge  and  followed  the  infantry 
of  the  division  across  to  the  other  side.  Coming  up  to  the  centre 
section,  the  whole  battery  moved  forward  and  took  position  upon 
next  to  the  uppermost  range  of  hills  above  the  valley,  a^ost  in 
sight  of  Sharpsburg,  and  to  the  right  of  a  large  cornfield,  wheeling 
"  into  battery  "  under  a  heavy  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery  It 
was  soon  hotly  engaged  with  a  battery  in  its  front,  being  at  the 
same  time  exposed  to  a  shower  of  bullets  from  the  enemy's  infantry 
under  cover  of  a  stone  wall  in  front  and  the  cornfield  on  the  left. 
The  enemy's  battery  opposing  in  front  was  about  900  yards  distant, 
and  was  soon  silenced.  But  there  were  other  Confederate  batter 
ies  that  bore  down  on  Durell,  to  which  he  replied  until  the  one  in 
front  had  the  temerity  to  again  open,  when  it  would  again  claim 
his  attention  and  again  be  silenced. 


THE  MARYLAND  CAMPAIGN — ANTIETAM.  83 

Soon  after  taking  this  position,  Captain  Clark's  Battery  E, 
4th  U.  S.  Artillery,  came  to  the  support  and  alligned  its  guns  with 
DurelPs.  Captain  Clark  and  one  of  his  lieutenants  were  struck 
down  while  getting  their  guns  into  position.  When  Clark's  Battery 
got  into  action  the  enemy's  fire  grew  weaker.  At  about  3  o'clock, 
Hawkins'  Zouaves  (gth  New  York,)  marched  forward  and  charged 
upon  the  battery  in  front  and  captured  it  in  gallant  style.  The 
Zouaves  were  able  to  hold  it  but  a  few  minutes,  being  forced  back 
to  the  main  line  of  battle  in  a  badly  shattered  condition.  The  field 
was  thickly  dotted  with  red  trousers,  showing  the  heavy  loss  of  the 
Zouaves.  The  regiment  was  not  supported  in  the  charge,  which 
was  afterward  said  to  have  been  made  without  authority,  or  through 
a  misunderstanding  of  orders. 

The  enemy  clung  to  its  recaptured  battery  with  the  utmost 
tenacity.  Durell  plunged  percussion  and  time  shells  into  it,  silenc 
ing  the  guns,  but  it  again  opened  fire.  Finally  Durell  succeeded 
in  putting  a  shot  through  the  length  of  a  detachment,  dismounting 
a  gun  and  inflicting  so  much  damage  that  was  effectually  silenced. 
Soon  after,  his  battery's  projectiles  became  exhausted  and  it  was 
ordered  back,  the  general  commanding  not  deeming  it  advisable  to 
allow  the  caissons  to  cross  the  bridge  tobringup  a  supply  of  ammu 
nition. 

This  was  the  hardest  fought  action  and  was  carried  on  at  the 
shortest  range  of  any  in  which  the  battery  had  been  engaged.  Its 
casualties  were  two  men  severely  wounded,  and  the  loss  of  eleven 
horses.  Some  of  the  latter  were  shot  and  several  dropped  in  the 
harness  from  exhaustion  and  had  to  be  left  on  the  field.  The 
wounded  men  were  Isaiah  J.  Sellers,  of  Doylestown,  who  was 
shot  through  the  body  by  a  ball  from  a  case-shot,  which  exploded 
in  front  of  the  battery,  the  ball  passing  through  one  of  his  lungs  ; 
and  John  C.  Sherwood,  of  Morr'sville,  Bucks  County,  who  was 
struck  by  a  ball  from  the  same  explosive  which  passed  through  the 
calf  of  his  leg.  They  were  immediately  carried  back  by  ambulance 
to  the  Barn  Hospital.  Sherwood  died  a  few  months  afterward  in 
a  hospital,  and  Sellers  miraculously  recovered  after  long  and  care 
ful  treatment,  and  is,  at  this  time,  still  living  and  able  to  work, 
though  at  times  he  still  suffers  from  the  wound. 

The  battery  retired  over  the  bridge  and  rejoined  the  caissons 
which  had  been  left  in  the  vicinity  of  the  bivouac  of  the  night  pre 
vious,  where  it  again  parked  its  guns  about  sundown.  The  i8th 
was  spent  at  this  place,  no  incident  of  note  occurring.  This  gave 


84  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

men  and  horses  much  needed  rest.  All  was  quiet  along  the  lines 
now  with  the  exception  of  slight  cannonading  in  the  morning  and 
some  skirmishing  of  the  infantry. 

The  reveille  was  sounded  early  on  the  morning  of  the  191)1. 
It  was  ascertained  that  the  Confederate  army  had  recrossed  the 
Potomac  into  Virginia  during  the  preceding  night.  The  battery 
did  not  receive  orders  to  move  until  about  n  o'clock,  when  it 
again  advanced  over  the  bridge,  crossing  that  portion  of  the  battle 
field  which  was  the  scene  of  its  part  in  the  action,  to  the  outskirts 
of  Sharpsburg.  At  the  point  where  the  pugnacious  Confederate 
battery  had  stood,  there  was  plentiful  evidence  of  the  punishment 
it  had  received  scattered  over  the  field.  Nine  dead  horses,  broken 
carriage,  wheels,  handspikes,  artillery  harness,  etc.,  testified  to  the 
terrible  fire  it  had  undergone  in  its  efforts  to  hold  the  position,  but  from 
which  Durell's  guns  had  driven  it.  The  Confederate  dead  had  all 
been  removed  or  buried  before  the  retreat  of  the  night  before,  but 
there  still  remained  unburied  a  large  number  of  the  Union  dead. 
The  march  was  continued  for  a  distance  of  about  four  miles,  when 
the  left  section  was  detailed  to  take  a  position  with  Clark's  Battery 
near  the  mouth  of  Antietam  Creek,  and  the  other  two  sections 
were  posted  at  a  point  on  the  Potomac  River  one  mile  distant. 


CAMPING  IN  MARYLAND.  85 


CHAPTER  XI. 
CAMPING  IN  MARYLAND. 

ON  September  2oth,  the  sound  of  brisk  cannonading  came 
from  the  direction  of  Shepherdstown,  but  the  battery  was 
not  called  out,  and  the  men  were  left  undisturbed  in  the 
work  of  cooking,  bathing  in  the  Potomac  and  washing  their 
clothes.  Several  balloon  ascensions  were  made  to  ascertain  the 
the  movements  of  the  enemy.  The  pleasant  camp  of  the  left  sec 
tion,  located  upon  splendid  green  sward,  with  large  trees  to  pro 
vide  a  grateful  shade  from  the  hot  sun,  was  undisturbed  until  the 
23rd,  when  it  was  ordered  early  in  the  morning  to  pack  up  and 
prepare  to  move.  No  marching  orders  came,  however.  The 
orders  had  been  issued  in  preparation  to  meet  the  movements  of 
a  large  column  of  Confederates,  which  the  Signal  Corps  had 
reported  to  be  in  the  vicinity. 

On  the  24th,  Orderly  Sergeant  William  P.  Andrews  left  for 
home  on  sick  leave,  which  was  quite  an  event,  as  but  few  furloughs 
had  been  granted  to  members  of  the  battery.  Nearly  all  the  men 
were  desirous  of  obtaining  one.  On  the  following  day  the  left 
section  joined  the  other  guns  of  the  battery,  and  orders  were 
issued  in  the  afternoon  to  be  in  readiness  to  move  at  a  moment's 
notice. 

On  the  26th  the  battery  moved  across  Antietam  Creek  and 
encamped  near  the  Isabella  Furnace,  located  at  the  mouth  of  the 
stream.  Here,  it  is  said,  in  the  year  1732,  a  terrible  battle  was 
fought  between  the  Catawbas  and  Delawares,  which  resulted  in 
the  entire  extermination  of  the  Delaware  Indians.  The  guns  were 
placed  "in  battery,"  and  the  infantry  encamped  in  line  of  battle. 
The  camps  were  ordered  to  be  put  in  proper  trim,  and  drills, 
dress  parades  and  inspections  were  resumed.  A  number  of  civil 
ian  friends  and  relatives  of  the  men  from  Berks  and  Bucks  Coun 
ties  visited  the  camp  at  this  time,  among  others  being  D.  Wyn- 
koop  McNair  from  Bucks,  who  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  thirty- 
days'  furlough  for  his  son  William,  who  had  been  laid  up  with 
sickness  since  the  battle  of  Antietam,  and  took  him  home. 


86  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

On   October  3rd,   the  Ninth  Army  Corps  was  reviewed  by 
President  Lincoln  and  General  McClellan.    The  battery  appeared, 
through   some   misunderstanding,  on   foot,  and  was   sent  back   to 
camp  for  the  horses  and  guns.      The  troops  received  the  President 
with  cheers  along  the   whole   line.      On   the   6th  a  supply  of  new 
horses  was  received   to   fill   the  gap   caused   by  the   losses  in  the 
recent  campaign.     On  the  following  day  the  corps  moved  over  into 
Pleasant    Valley,  the    battery    taking   a  rough    road    through   the 
mountain  gap,  while  the  infantry  crossed  the  mountain  by  a  differ 
ent  road.     The  valley  afforded  a  beautiful  location  for  a  camp. 
The  whole  corps  was  concentrated  in  it.      The  men  of  the  battery 
proceeded    to   fix   up   their   quarters    as   though   they  expected  to 
remain  a  long  time.     They  were  constructed  to  meet  rough  autumn 
weather  which  would   soon  be  due.      The  heavy  tarpaulins  which 
had  been  used   during  the   previous   winter  to  cover  the  gun-car 
riages  and  harness,  were   now  employed  as   roofs.      One  of  these 
tents  with  the  ends  and  sides  boarded   up,  made  very  comfortable 
quarters.      The  dimensions  were   about  twelve   feet  in  length,  ten 
feet  wide  and  eight  feet   high   to   the  peak   of  the   roof.     Twelve 
comrades    occupied   the    tent.       It   was   the   most    imposing  and 
elaborately  appointed  structure  in   the  camp,  and  was  termed   by 
the  rest  of  the   battery  as  "Bucks  County  Headquarters,"  all  of 
its    occupants    coming    from    that    county.      They  were  a  picked 
squad  of  young  men  who  elected  to  mess  together  when  the  Sibley 
tents  were   issued   the   winter  previous,    and   had  kept    the   mess 
unbroken.      They   were  :     I.  Carey  Carver,   George   Ross  Carver, 
William  S.  McNair,  Stewart  McAleese,  Charles  MacCorkle,  George 
Douglass,  John  Beatty  Price,  James  S.  Rich,  Mahlon  B.  Buckman, 
Robert  Conard,  Joseph  M.  Cuffel  and  Charles  A.  Cuffel. 

Drills,  inspections  and  reviews  were  now  of  almost  daily 
occurrence,  and  the  time  not  taken  up  with  these  duties,  was 
passed  by  the  men  in  reading,  cooking,  etc.  Apples  were  plenti 
ful  in  the  surrounding  country,  and  a  gnawing  appetite  for  apple 
dumplings  seemed  to  have  become  epidemic  in  the  camp.  Flour 
was  obtained  from  a  mill  close  by,  white  sugar  was  purchased  from 
the  commissary  at  eleven  cents  per  pound,  on  an  order  from  the 
officers,  and  condensed  milk  was  procured  from  the  sutler,  which, 
highly  diluted  with  water,  were  the  essentials  for  making  these  camp 
dumplings.  So  general  had  become  the  practice  of  foraging  into 
the  neighboring  country,  that  cavalry  patrols  were  established  in 
every  direction,  and  any  poor  soldier  who  was  caught  by  them 


^IBK^^T? 

OF  THl 

UNIVERSITY 

IL  OF 


GENERAL   EDWARD   FERRERO 


CAMPING  IN  MARYLAND.  87 

without  a  pass,  was  sent  to  Harper's  Ferry  to  fell  trees  and  work 
on  the  trenches  for  punishment.  Orders  were  issued  on  the  i2th 
allowing  passes  for  not  more  than  six  men  each  day  to  the  battery. 

General  Ferrero  was  now  placed  in  command  of  the  Second 
Brigade,  having  been  promoted  from  the  colonelcy  of  the  5ist 
New  York.  The  greater  number  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
brigade  were  of  the  opinion  that  Colonel  Hartranft  should  have 
received  the  promotion,  and  been  placed  in  command  of  the  brig 
ade  for  conspicuous  gallantry  in  storming  and  carrying  Antietam 
bridge.  But  favoritism  outweighed  merit  in  this  case.  Ferrero  had 
been  dancing  master  at  West  Point,  where  he  had  taught  General 
McClellan  and  other  regular  officers  the  art.  He  secured  his  pro 
motion  upon  their  recommendation  over  the  meritorious  Hartranft. 
On  the  first  Sunday  after  his  elevation,  he  made  a  critical  inspec 
tion  of  the  battery,  dressed  in  a  new  uniform,  the  bright  silver  star 
of  his  rank  flashing  in  the  light  from  each  shoulder.  He  compli 
mented  Captain  Durell  upon  his  "  men  all  appearing  so  stout  and 
hearty,"  to  which  the  captain  replied,  "  They  all  came  from  the 
country."  The  i28th  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  Samuel  Croasdale's 
nine-month  regiment  from  Bucks  County,  were  encamped  upon 
Maryland  Heights,  and  were  visited  by  the  Bucks  County  portion 
of  the  battery  as  the  men  were  able  to  procure  passes. 

Captain  Clark's  Battery  of  Regulars,  of  the  First  Brigade,  was 
detailed,  on  the  i5th,  to  make  a  reconnoissance  into  Virginia.  It 
returned  after  an  absence  of  three  days.  The  enemy  had  been 
encountered  at  Charlestown,  where  the  regulars  were  roughly 
handled,  suffering  the  loss  of  one  man  killed,  four  wounded  and 
one  gun  dismounted. 

On  the  i6th,  Heston  &  Cox,  of  Doylestown,  drove  into  camp 
with  an  express  wagon  loaded  with  sutler's  goods,  and  expressed  a 
desire  to  make  their  headquarters  with  the  battery  and  serve  it 
regularly  with  sutler's  stores  ;  but  departed  the  next  day  and  never 
returned. 

First  Sergeant  Win.  P.  Andrews  returned  from  his  furlough  on 
the  1 7th,  accompanied  by  Jesse  Bissey,  of  Doylestown  township, 
who  came  to  visit  his  son,  Gilbert,  a  member  of  the  battery. 

A  cold  rain-storm  had  set  in  and  tested  the  best  prepared 
quarters  to  keep  the  men  comfortable.  The  2ist  was  an  especi 
ally  cold  and  blustry  day,  the  men  being  unable  to  keep  warm  ; 
and  the  horses,  tied  to  the  picket  rope  in  the  open  air,  shivered 
in  the  chill  winds.  They  were  given  exercise  by  riding  them  on  a 


88  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

trot,  to  get  their  blood  into  circulation.  The  cold  and  dismal 
weather  had  passed  on  the  23rd,  and  the  battery  was  inspected  by 
General  Barry,  chief  of  artillery,  who  said  that  it  was  in  better  con 
dition  than  any  other  he  had  seen,  considering  the  service  it  had 
passed  through.  He  promised  that  new  clothes  should  soon  be 
furnished  to  the  men.  Captain  Durell,  who  had  been  at  his  home 
in  Reading  on  leave  of  absence  for  a  few  weeks,  returned  to  his 
command  on  the  same  day. 

The  quarters  were  now  quite  comfortable  throughout  the  camp 
and  the  men  were  flattering  themselves  that  General  McClellan 
would  permit  them  to  remain  there  until  spring.  Speculation  and 
rumors  of  coming  events  were  rife.  There  were  predictions  that  a 
big  battle  would  be  fought  at  Winchester  before  winter  set  in,  and 
that  the  army  would  advance  within  forty-eight  hours.  It  was  said 
that  Halleck  would  take  command  in  the  West,  that  Hooker  would 
succeed  McClellan  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and 
that  Burnside  was  fitting  out  an  expedition  for  some  Southern  port. 
The  24th  was  a  cold  and  blustry  day,  which  kept  the  men  close  to 
the  camp-fires,  where  they  passed  the  time  in  cooking  and  "spin 
ning  yarns. ' '  Orders  were  received  the  next  day  to  prepare  to 
move.  The  following  is  quoted  from  Sergeant  Andrew's  letter  of 
October  25th  : 

"  Received  some  new  clothing.  The  battery  share  was  45  pairs  of  trous 
ers,  49  caps,  13  pairs  of  shoes  and  120  shirts  ;  in  no  instance  one-third  the 
quantity  required.  P>erything  has  been  bustle  and  confusion  all  day.  Ord 
nance  teams  have  been  on  the  go  since  daylight ;  old  guns  are  being  turned  in 
and  new  ones  issued.  Our  means  of  transportation  have  been  considerably 
curtailed,  being  compelled  to  turn  into  the  ordnance  department  three  of  our 
wagons.  In  so  doing,  we  took  all  the  worst  horses  we  had  in  the  battery  and 
harnessed  them  into  the  lost  wagons,  taking  the  good  horses  from  the  teams  and 
placing  them  at  the  picket  ropes.  Received  ordeis  to  throw  away  all  unneces 
sary  plunder  with  which  the  knapsacks  are  filled.  The  men  are  continually 
contriving  something  in  the  eating  line.  Everything  that  the  country  affords 
rinds  its  way  into  the  pan  even  to  the  paw-paws,  which  the  men  fry  and  devour. 
Mush  is  all  the  rage  now.  The  meal  is  obtained  by  rubbing  the  ear  of  corn  on 
a  canteen.  The  canteens  are  split  in  half  and  then  punched  full  of  holes.  By 
rubbing  the  ear  on  the  roughened  side,  meal  is  made  very  fast.  The  cakes  that 
are  made  are  very  palatable.  You  can  hear  the  mills  at  work  all  over  the  camp. 
The  patrols  march  all  stragglers  to  General  McClellan,  who  orders  them  to  work 
on  the  fortifications  at  the  ferry.  We  have  two  men  there  at  work  ;  their  term 
of  service  is  thirty  days.  Among  the  crowd  can  be  seen  officers,  from  a  colonel 
down.  Our  boys  saw  a  colonel  on  water  committee,  carrying  water  from  the 
foot  of  the  mountain." 


CAMPING  IN  MARYLAND.  89 

The  encampment  in  Pleasant  Valley  was  a  very  pleasant  and 
helpful  one  to  the  men  of  the  battery — pleasant  because  of  its 
delightful  and  healthful  location,  and  the  facilities  afforded  to  pro 
cure  fruit  and  other  delicacies  to  furnish  a  change  in  the  regular 
army  fare,  and  helpful  in  affording  time  for  rest  and  for  refitting 
the  troops  with  needed  clothing  for  the  coming  colder  weather, 
and  the  facilities  afforded  to  friends  at  home  to  visit  the  camps. 
A  large  number  of  citizens  availed  themselves  of  this  opportunity, 
and  there  were  but  few  days  while  the  battery  remained  in  Pleas 
ant  Valley  that  there  were  not  one  or  more  citizens  from  home 
sojourning  in  the  camp  as  the  guests  of  some  member  of  the 
battery. 

Furloughs  were  also  granted  to  several  men  to  go  home. 
This  was  a  prize  eagerly  sought  by  the  majority  of  the  command, 
but  was  given  only  to  those  deemed  most  worthy  by  the  officers  to 
receive  them.  P>ut  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  obtain 
one  returned  to  the  battery  at  the  alloted  time,  apparently  pleased 
to  be  back  at  their  post  of  duty,  which  acted  as  an  ointment  to 
soothe  the  disappointed  spirits  of  those  who  were  not  successful 
in  obtaining  a  furlough. 

William  Clouser,  who  enlisted  from  Berks  County,  and  served 
in  the  right  section  of  the  battery,  died  on  the  24th  in  camp. 
His  health  began  to  fail  shortly  after  his  enlistment,  but  he  stuck 
to  his  duty  heroically,  declining  to  relinquish  his  post  until  com 
pelled  to  do  so  from  sheer  weakness.  He  had  returned  from  home 
a  few  days  before,  whither  he  had  gone  on  sick  leave,  considerably 
improved  in  health  and  strength,  but  a  relapse  caused  by  expos 
ure  to  foul  wheather  suddenly  prostrated  him  and  called  him  hence. 
His  comrades  performed  the  solemn  duty  of  burying  the  hero  just 
before  breaking  camp  to  cross  into  Virginia. 


9°  DURELL'S  BATTERV. 


CHAPTER   XII. 
PURSUING  THK  ENEMY. 

ORDERS  were  issued  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  to  be  in 
readiness  to  move  at  5  o'clock  the  next  morning,  but  a 
heavy  wind  and  rain  storm  had  set  in,  which  probably  caused 
the  general  commanding  to  doubt  the  advisability  of  attempting 
to  cross  the  river,  for  ihe  order  was  countermanded  in  the  evening. 
The  weather  was  still  cold  and  stormy  on  the  morning  of  the  27th.  but 
the  skies  cleared  toward  noon,  when  the  whole  corps  broke  camp 
and  started  off  on  the  march.  The  line  of  march  led  over  hills  and 
muddy  roads  to  the  Potomac.  A  high,  cold  wind  still  prevailed. 
Whenever  a  halt  of  the  column  was  made,  the  men  gathered  a  few 
fence  rails  and  built  fires  around  which  they  gathered  and  toasted 
their  bodies  until  the  column  moved  forward.  The  camp  of  the 
8th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  to  which  Captain  Craven's  Bucks  County 
company  was  attached,  was  passed,  and  old  acquaintances  given  a 
passing  greeting.  Reaching  the  river,  the  column  proceeded  down 
to  Hanover.  Here  the  infantry  followed  the  tow-path  of  the  canal, 
and  the  artillery  and  baggage  trains  took  a  diverging  road  to  Ber 
lin,  where  the  river  was  crossed  upon  a  pontoon  bridge.  The 
scenery  along  that  portion  of  the  Potomac  is  quite  picturesque 
—the  river,  the  railroad,  the  canal  and  the  wagon  road,  all  run 
ning  parallel  with  the  high  bluffs  and  jutting  rocks  on  either  side  of 
the  stream.  The  pontoon  bridge  was  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile 
in  length,  and  was  laid  near  the  wagon  bridge  that  was  destroyed 
soon  after  the  opening  of  hostilities.  Of  the  latter  nothing  now  re 
mained  but  the  stone  piers,  projecting  above  the  water.  Night  drew 
a  gloomy  veil  over  the  scene  before  the  battery  reached  the  bridge 
and  crossed  once  more  to  the  "sacred  soil"  of  Virginia,  encamp 
ing  near  Lovettsville,  where  it  remained  all  of  the  next  day. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  29th  a  short  march  was  made  passing 
through  Lovettsville  and  Bolington.  Reveille  was  sounded  at  4 
o'clock  the  next  morning.  The  march  was  resumed  at  7  and 
proceeded  down  the  turnpike.  The  mountains,  which  were  in  full 
view,  presented  a  grand  spectacle,  clothed  in  their  many-colored 


PURSUING  THE  ENEMY.  91 

garments   of  October   foliage.      About  noon  the  troops  went  into 
camp  at  Wheatland. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3ist,  the  battery  was  inspected  and 
mustered  for  pay  by  Lieutenant  Dickinson,  of  Battery  E,  U.  S.  A. 
Four  month's  pay  was  due.  The  inspector  spent  but  little  time  in 
looking  over  matters,  and  appeared  to  be  very  well  pleased  with 
everything.  He  was  especially  gratified  at  the  appearance  of  the 
horses.  To  the  men  in  the  army  they  looked  very  well,  but  to  a 
Berks  or  Bucks  County  farmer,  they  would  have  been  considered 
eligible  candidates  for  the  nearest  tannery.  The  "  Marine  fever" 
that  had  once  before  afflicted  the  command,  again  broke  out 
among  the  men,  they  having  learned  that  they  could  enter  that 
service.  Twenty-one  tried  to  enlist.  Fortunately  for  the  com 
pany  only  a  fair  proportion  could  be  taken  from  each  battery.  The 
Berks  and  Bucks  County  men  on  the  list  were  about  equal  in  num 
ber,  but  no  recruits  were  taken  from  the  command.  William  S. 
McNair  returned  to  camp  on  the  3ist  from  his  furlough,  having 
traveled  from  Harper's  Ferry  in  the  brigade  teams. 

November  opened  with  delightful  weather — something  like 
Indian  Summer.  The  command  remained  in  camp  all  day  of  the 
ist,  though  columns  of  troops  were  passing  on  to  the  front,  among 
others,  King's  Division  of  McDowell's  Corps,  to  which  the  battery 
had  been  attached  early  in  the  service.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
the  2nd  the  march  was  resumed.  The  sound  of  cannonading  was 
heard  from  the  front  nearly  all  day.  In  the  evening  the  com 
mand  went  into  camp  at  Union  Mills.  The  left  section  was  as 
signed  to  duty  with  Clark's  Battery  of  Regulars.  The  march  was 
resumed  the  next  afternoon,  passing  through  Bloomfield,  and  the 
battery  encamped  after  dark  in  a  woods  not  far  from  Ashby'sGap. 
The  march  on  the  4th  took  the  command  to  Upperville,  about 
mid-day,  where  a  stop  was  made.  Here  Generals  McClellan  and 
Burnside  rode  by.  The  ist  New  Hampshire  Battery,  of  McDow 
ell's  Corps,  old  friends,  were  encamped  near,  and  visits  were 
exchanged  by  the  men.  Their  captain,  who  had  been  taken 
prisoner,  had  rejoined  his  battery. 

The  bugle  sounded  the  reveille  before  daylight  on  November 
5th,  and  a  march  was  made  over  very  rough  country  to  Piedmont. 
The  morning  was  pleasant,  but  the  weather  turned  cold  and 
blustry  in  the  afternoon.  Cannonading  was  again  heard  in  the 
distance.  The  command  was  called  up  early  the  next  morning, 
but  did  not  move  until  noon.  It  marched  on  until  late  in  the 


92  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

night  and   bivouacked   near  Orleans.      The  weather  was  cold,  and 
the  men  quickly  built  fires  and  laid  down  around  them  to  sleep. 

The  morning  of  the  yth  was  ushered  in  with  a  snow  storm. 
The  usual  marching  orders  not  appearing  to  be  forthcoming,  the 
men  pitched  tents,  and  made  themselves  as  comfortable  as  they 
could.  The  snow  was  accompanied  by  a  high  wind,  and  made  the 
day  a  very  cheerless  one.  The  men  were  poorly  clothed,  the 
shoes  of  many  of  them  being  so  worn  that  the  toes  were  exposed. 
About  4  o'clock  came  marching  orders,  and  off  the  battery 
plodded  through  the  darkness  and  snow.  The  brigade  took  the 
wrong  road,  unfortunately,  and  marched  about  two  miles  out  of 
the  right  course.  Toward  morning,  when  the  proper  place  was 
reached,  the  battery  turned  into  a  field,  and  in  a  few  minutes  all 
the  fences  were  torn  down  and  fires  made  of  the  material.  Many 
of  the  men,  tired  and  cold,  spread  their  blankets  upon  the  snow, 
which  was  about  two  inches  in  depth,  and  slept,  while  others  dozed 
in  a  sitting  posture  around  the  camp  fires.  Soon  after  daylight  the 
battery  proceeded  about  a  mile  and  encamped  upon  a  high  hill  in 
the  edge  of  a  woods,  near  Waterloo.  The  quarters  were  made  as 
comfortable  as  possible,  for  the  weather  was  cold,  and  the  supplies 
running  short,  foraging  parties  were  sent  out  after  food  for  the 
men.  The  battery  did  not  leave  this  camp  until  the  evening  of 
the  Qth,  when  it  crossed  the  Rappahannock  River  at  Glen  Mills 
and  was  placed  upon  the  picket  line,  near  Amissville.  The  follow 
ing  is  a  quotation  from  Sergeant  Andrew's  journal  : 

iVovember  loth. — "  At  Amissville.  Left  our  camp  yesterday  at  4  o'clock 
P.  M.  We  moved  on  a  short  distance  and  were  compelled  to  wait  for  Romer's 
Battery  to  come  out.  They  were  not  harnessed  as  yet  and  were  to  precede  us. 
The  men  improved  the  time  by  scouring  the  deserted  camps  of  the  infantry  in 
search  of  old  shoes.  Some  of  them  were  well  rewarded  for  their  trouble. 
Times  are  pretty  hard  with  us  when  the  men  hunt  up  old  clothing  to  wear.  We 
struck  toward  the  Rappahannock,  which  we  crossed  at  a  village  called  '  Glenn's 
Mills.'  The  village  consists  of  a  large  cotton  mill,  with  its  necessary  outbuild 
ings  and  storehouses,  and  some  three  or  four  other  storehouses,  occupied  by  the 
operatives  of  the  mills.  The  mills  appeared  to  be  in  running  order,  and  possibly 
had  been  at  work  that  day,  judging  from  the  appearance  of  the  inhabitants.  But 
two  or  three  men  were  to  be  seen,  but  plenty  of  women.  In  one  house  there 
were  some  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them.  One  pretty  fair  looking  damsel  was 
standing  in  a  door  combing  her  hair  ;  whether  hunting  for  '  cavalry  '  or  fixing 
for  her  beau,  I  cannot  say.  The  road  was  very  bad  on  both  sides  of  the  river, 
which  is  a  small  affair  here.  It  is  called  'Hedgeman  C'reek  '  where  we  crossed. 
There  are  a  number  of  small  creeks  about  here  that  are  called  the  head  waters 
of  the  Rappahannock.  By  crossing  the  fields  we  soon  came  on  the  turnpike 
that  leads  from  Alexandria  towards  little  Washington  and  Sperryville.  We  fol- 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MAJOR-GENERAL   A.    E.    BURNSIDE 


PURSUING  THE  ENEMY.  93 

owed  the  road  and  came  to  a  halt  about  8  o'clock,  near  the  village  of  Amiss- 
ville.  Romer's  Battery  left  us  a  couple  of  miles  back  and  went  to  Jeffersonville, 
which  is  towards  Culpepper.  At  Amissville  we  met  two  regiments  of  our 
brigade  on  the  back  track.  They  had  been  out  here  on  picket  duty,  supporting 
Pleasanton's  Cavalry,  which  had  been  driven  in  during  the  morning.  The 
cavalry  had  driven  the  rebels  from  here  on  Saturday.  Our  brigade  is  at  Jeffer 
son.  The  First  Brigade,  with  which  we  traveled  yesterday,  came  out  to  relieve 
the  others.  The  men  complained  very  much  at  being  routed  out  of  their 
quarters  at  night.  The  village  is  stretched  out  for  some  distance  down  the  pike. 
It  is  a  town  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  houses.  Near  by  is  a  very  neat  frame 
church.  Heard  some  pretty  heavy  cannonading  this  morning  over  towards  our 
left,  and  orders  came  to  be  ready  to  move  immediately,  and  to  leave  everything 
behind. 

November  nth. — "The  rebels  early  yesterday  morning  made  an  attack  in 
force  on  our  cavalry,  driving  them  a  short  distance.  Soon  after  the  firing  com 
menced,  the  cavalry  teams  were  seen  coming  in  on  double  quick.  This  made 
considerable  stir  among  our  teamsters.  The  brigade  was  ordered  out  and  soon 
returned  on  quick  step.  The  teams  were  ordered  out  by  Captain  Ravolle,  the 
adjutant  general,  and  we  were  not  given  time  to  load  up  anything.  The  baggage 
was  ordered  to  fall  back  toward  Waterloo.  They  construed  the  order  literally, 
and  fell  back  beyond  Waterloo.  We  went  with  the  teams  seven  miles  back. 
The  firing  was  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  cavalry,  who  had  a  number  of 
hand-to-hand  fights  during  the  day.  There  was  a  pretty  good  show  for  a  regular 
Bull  Run  skedaddle  when  the  teams  first  started  off.  But  matters  soon  cooled 
down,  and  all  went  off  well  enough.  We  now  hold  our  own  ground  and  do  not 
know  where  the  rebels  are.  The  teams  were  all  ordered  back  last  night  ;  ours 
came  in  about  3  o'clock.  Our  battery  is  divided  — one  section  being  on  our  old 
camping  ground,  the  other  two  being  in  the  village.  The  latter  sections  are  in 
no  danger  of  starving,  having  killed  two  heifers  and  one  pig  this  morning.  Had 
a  very  heavy  frost  last  night,  almost  equal  to  a  small  snow.  The  people  of  this 
village,  when  they  saw  the  troops  coming  back  yesterday  morning,  showed  their 
secesh  feelings  by  waving  their  handkerchiefs  and  hurrahing.  Women  and 
children  all  seemed  rejoiced.  The  men  being  scarce,  I  did  not  witness  any 
demonstration  on  their  part." 

The  morning  of  the  i  oth  opened  with  beautiful  and  mild  Novem 
ber  weather.  The  men  were  generally  engaged  in  washing  their 
clothes,  when  brisk  cannonading  was  heard  from  the  front.  The 
sound  came  gradually  nearer,  and  soon  the  battery  was  placed  in 
readiness  for  an  attack.  It  was  then  ordered  to  advance  with  the 
brigade  toward  the  fight,  with  instructions  to  leave  tents  and  knap 
sacks  with  the  baggage  wagons,  on  the  camp  ground.  Proceeding 
about  half  a  mile,  the  baggage  wagon's  of  Pleasanton's  Cavalry  were 
met,  coming  in  from  the  front,  with  the  mules  on  a  run.  It  was 
soon  ascertained  that  a  large  force  of  Confederate  cavalry  had 
forced  Pleasanton  back,  and  orders  were  given  to  retire  the  brigade 
to  Amissville,  where  the  battery  took  position  for  action,  while  the 


94  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

baggage  trains  went  thundering  down  the  turnpike  toward  Waterloo. 
There  was  a  prospect,  for  a  short  time,  of  a  veritable  Waterloo,  but 
Pleasanton  succeeded  in  checking  the  enemy,  until  assistance  from 
the  infantry  arrived  when  they  were  in  turn  driven  back.  The 
Union  cavalry  were  distinctly  seen  fighting  the  enemy,  but  the 
battery  was  not  called  upon  to  take  part  in  the  fight.  Everything 
in  camp  had  been  ordered  to  be  loaded  upon  the  wagons,  but  the 
men  in  charge  of  them  became  excited,  and  left  nearly  all  the 
knapsacks  and  tents  behind.  They  were  afterward  recovered  by 
the  batterymen  while  awaiting  the  advance  of  the  enemy. 

The  nth  was  passed  quietly  in  camp,  though  occasional 
reports  of  cannonading  were  heard  in  the  distance.  The  men  were 
principally  occupied  in  cooking  their  plunder.  It  was  a  good 
country  for  foraging,  and  fresh  pork,  veal  and  chicken  formed  part 
of  the  menu  of  the  men's  fare  for  several  days.  Guards  were  posted 
upon  private  property,  but  squads  of  foragers  would  start  out  on  a 
raid  as  soon  as  a  halt  was  made,  and  carry  off  their  plunder  before 
the  guards  could  be  posted.  Among  other  articles  highly  prized 
was  leaf  tobacco,  which  was  dubbed  "  Rappahannock. "  Rolled 
up  after  a  manner  into  cigars,  it  furnished  a  villainously  strong 
smoke. 

At  daylight  on  the  i2th  the  command  returned  to  Waterloo, 
encamping  about  half  a  mile  from  a  former  camp  ground  at  this 
place.  The  tents  were  put  up  and  preparations  made  for  a  com 
fortable  rest,  but  near  nightfall  the  march  was  resumed  over  muddy 
roads  to  a  point  near  the  spot  at  White  Sulphur  Spring,  upon  which 
the  battery  had  encamped  the  summer  before,  during  Pope's  retreat. 
General  McClellan  was  now  superseded  by  General  Burnside,  who 
had  been  commander  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  the  command  of  which 
was  given  to  General  Wilcox.  The  battery  remained  in  camp 
during  the  next  two  days.  On  the  evening  of  the  i3th  there  was 
some  exchange  of  shots  with  the  enemy's  artillery  on  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  in  which  Clark's  Battery  took  part, 
and  one  section  of  Durell's  Battery  was  ordered  to  be  in  readiness 
to  join  them.  The  horses  were  hitched  up,  and  the  section  stood 
in  camp  for  some  time,  but  it  was  finally  dismissed.  The  Confed 
erates  had  made  a  dash  upon  the  Union  picket  line  and  captured 
the  colonel  and  major  of  the  nth  New  Hampshire  Regiment. 
The  men  had  been  without  their  regular  rations  of  '  *  hard  tack  ' ' 
for  two  days,  but  the  supply  trains  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the 
1 3th,  and  each  man  received  a  ration  of  ten  crackers. 


ARTILLERY  DUEL  AT  SULPHUR  SPRINGS.  95 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
ARTILLERY  DUEL  AT  SULPHUR  SPRINGS. 

REVEILLE  sounded  at  5  o'clock  on  the  i5th,  and  about  7 
the  command  was  on  the  march  again,  passing  through  the 
village  and  by  the  burnt  bridge  which  had  spanned  the 
Rappahannock,  where  a  turn  was  made  up  the  hills  from  the  river. 
This  was  the  bridge  which  the  Union  soldiers  had  such  a  hard 
time  setting  on  fire  on  Pope's  retreat.  Ascending  the  hill  the 
enemy's  cavalry  appeared  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  emerg 
ing  from  the  woods  in  squads.  A  small  body  of  Union  cavalry  on 
duty  near  the  ruined  bridge,  forded  the  stream  and  advancing  toward 
them  engaged  in  a  skirmish  with  them.  A  few  moments  later  the 
enemy's  artillery  opened  upon  the  division  wagon  train,  which  was 
bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  column,  and  threatened  to  capture  or 
destroy  it.  A  staff  officer  rode  up  to  Captain  Durell  with  orders 
to  return  a  section  of  his  guns  to  the  river  hill  and  engage  the 
enemy's  artillery.  The  left  section,  Lieutenant  Howard  Mcllvain 
commanding  was  sent  on  this  duty.  Posting  his  guns  in  a  peach 
orchard  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  he  opened  upon  the  opposing 
battery.  The  Confederate  cavalry  made  a  charge  down  to  the 
river,  and  were  about  to  ford  the  stream,  when  the  35th  Massa 
chusetts  Infantry,  which  was  lying  in  wait  for  them,  poured  a  vol 
ley  into  the  advancing  horsemen,  which  sent  them  whirling  back. 
Six  empty  saddles  were  counted.  The  Confederates  served  their 
guns  unusually  well,  delivering  effective  shots  among  the  wagons, 
which  greatly  demoralized  the  teamsters.  The  wagon-master 
turned  back  his  wagons  that  had  not  reached  the  exposed  part  of 
the  road,  as  soon  as  the  fight  began,  and  ordered  them  to  join  the 
division  by  another  route. 

The  battery  paid  no  attention  to  the  Union  guns,  so  long  as 
the  wagons  were  in  view,  but  after  the  last  had  passed  out  of  sight, 
Mcllvain' s  guns  received  the  undivided  attention  of  the  Confed 
erate  gunners.  Unfortunately  the  Union  ammunition  proved  to 
be  defective,  many  of  the  shells  exploding  before  reaching  the  river. 
Only  an  occasional  shot  carried  near  to  the  mark.  This  unequal 
contest  was  kept  up  for  more  than  an  hour  before  support  was 


96  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

received  from  the  other  four  guns  of  the  battery,  which  took  posi 
tion  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road.  Their  ammunition  was 
also  poor.  The  enemy's  guns  still  continued  to  pound  the  left 
section,  their  shells  bursting  all  around.  A  solid  shot  from  a 
twenty-pound  gun  struck  the  gallant  Mcllvain,  taking  off  his  right 
arm  and  inflicting  a  terrible  wound  in  his  side.  He  had  just 
encouraged  his  men  with  the  words  :  "Stick  to  your  guns,  boys  ! 
Watch  that  smoke."  It  was  the  smoke  from  the  gun  that  sent  the 
fatal  shot.  He  wanted  his  gunners  to  aim  their  pieces  at  it.  He 
was  carried  back  in  rear  of  the  limbers ;  but  he  requested  the  men 
to  return  to  their  guns  and  let  him  lie  there.  Shortly  after  a  shot 
struck  Henry  B.  Ives,  one  of  the  detatched  men  from  Wads- 
worth's  Brigade,  driver  of  the  lead  team  of  the  fourth  piece,  and 
shattered  his  right  arm.  He  was  immediately  cared  for.  A  sur 
geon  amputated  the  limb  on  the  field.  The  projectiles  for  the 
left  section  being  exhausted,  it  retired  to  the  caissons  for  a  fresh 
supply,  and  later  returned  to  the  fight.  The  battery  expended  in 
this  engagement  over  300  rounds  of  ammunition.  In  the  mean 
time  Benjamin's  Battery  of  twenty-pound  Parrott  guns  came  up  and 
the  Confederates  were  soon  silenced.  Besides  the  casualties  above 
mentioned,  private  Amos  Antrim  from  Berks  County,  received  a 
contusion  of  the  face  from  a  piece  of  shell. 

Lieutenant  Mcllvain  bore  his  suffering  with  marvellous  forti 
tude  until  about  8  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  he  passed  away 
into  the  sleep  which  knows  no  waking.  He  died  the  death  of  a 
hero,  bravely  fighting  for  his  country,  like  the  soldier  that  he  was. 
The  entire  command,  officers  and  men,  lamented  his  death,  and 
regarded  it  as  an  irreparable  loss.  He  was  beloved  by  the  whole 
battery,  and  especially  by  the  men  of  his  own  section.  The  cap 
tain  keenly  felt  the  loss  of  his  right-hand  and  trusty  lieutenant,  the 
one  to  whom  he  always  turned  when  an  important  duty  was  to  be 
performed.  Whenever  a  responsible  or  dangerous  task  was  to  be 
executed,  Mcllvain  was  called  to  lead.  He  did  not  appear  to  know 
fear  ;  but  was  as  cool  and  collected  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  as 
when  calmly  sleeping  under  the  white  canopy  of  his  tent.  He  was 
kind  and  just  to  his  men,  and  would  have  resented  an  act  of  in 
justice  to  any  one  of  them,  no  matter  if  it  was  imposed  by  the 
general  commanding.  He  was  capable  of  manceuvering  and  fight 
ing  a  much  larger  command,  and  would,  no  doubt,  have  been 
advanced  to  high  rank  in  the  service  had  his  life  been  spared  to 
the  close  of  the  war. 


ARTILLERY   DUEL  AT  SULPHUR  SPRINGS.  97 

The  following  account  of  the  engagement  was  given  by  a  cor 
respondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  who  was  personally  in  the 
midst  of  the  fight  : 

"  The  First  and  Second  Brigades  of  General  Sturgis'  Division  broke  camp 
at  about  7  o'clock,  A.  M.,  to  move  from  the  camp  at  White  Sulphur  Springs  to 
the  neighorhood  of  Fayetteville.  There  was  a  choice  of  two  roads,  one  of 
which  leads  back  from  the  Rappahannock,  and  was  therefore  safe  from  the  shot 
and  shell  of  the  enemy,  while  the  other  -  the  most  direct  route  and  consider 
ably  more  convenient  for  the  transportation  of  the  wagon  trains — passed  the 
Spring,  and,  approaching  the  river,  turned  to  the  left  at  a  sharp  angle  in  plain 
view  of,  and  but  a  trifling  distance  from  a  large  mansion  upon  a  hillside  on  the 
other  branch  of  the  stream.  The  road  as  it  approaches  the  river  exposes  a 
column  of  troops  or  train  of  wagons  passing  over  it  to  a  dangerous  enfilading 
fire  from  a  hill,  where  the  house  is  situated,  and  after  the  turn  is  made,  troops 
and  trains  moving  away  to  the  left,  are  in  range  from  the  hill  for  some  distance, 
till  they  are  finally  protected  by  the  hills  rising  upon  either  side  of  the  river, 
behind  which  the  road  winds. 

"The  two  brigades  had  been  for  some  time  in  motion,  and  a  portion  of 
the  train,  under  charge  of  Captain  Plato,  division  quartermaster,  had  passed 
the  dangerous  turn  in  the  road,  when  our  cavalry  were  seen  skirmishing  with 
the  rebels  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  house  on  the  opposite  hill.  Finally,  our 
cavalry,  seeing  the  departure  of  the  troops,  formed  in  a  solid  square  and  re 
turned  toward  the  river  at  the  point  where  the  ruins  of  the  bridge  crossing  the 
stream  was  guarded  by  the  35th  Massachusetts.  At  the  same  moment  the 
rebel  cavalry  emerged  from  the  wood  in  rear  of  the  house  and  formed  in  a 
hallow  square,  protecting  two  pieces  of  artillery,  which  were  planted  by  the 
house.  A  moment  more  and  a  2O-pound  rifled  shell  from  a  Parrott  gun  came 
whizzing  along  over  the  line  of  wagons  approaching  the  river,  exploding  in  un 
pleasant  proximity  to  the  train. 

"  Captain  DurelPs  Battery  immediately  took  up  position  and  opened  as 
soon  as  possible.  The  rebels  now  got  five  guns  in  position,  three  of  them  be 
ing  2O-pound  Parrotts,  and  a  hail  of  shot  and  shell  flew  over  the  heads  of  the 
train,  the  troops  having  got  beyond  range.  Captain  Plato,  seeing  the  danger 
to  which  his  wagons  were  exposed,  many  of  them  containing  ammunition, 
turned  back  that  portion  which  had  not  reached  the  turn,  and  they  moved  to 
their  destination  over  the  more  difficult  but  less  dangerous  road.  Captain 
Durell's  Battery,  occupying  an  exceedingly  exposed  position,  withstood  for 
something  like  an  hour  the  fire  from  the  heavy  2O-pound  guns.  Early  in  the 
fight,  Lieutenant  Howard  Mcllvain  was  struck  by  a  shell  which  carried  away 
his  arm,  side,  thigh  and  hip,  laying  open  his  entrails  and  causing  one  of  the 
most  fearful  wounds  ever  recorded.  The  brave  and  unfortunate  young  man 
lay  in  the  most  horrible  agony,  raving  from  pain  a  great  portion  of  the  time, 
from  the  moment  of  receiving  his  wound  till  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  he 
was  relieved  from  his  sufferings  by  death.  He  said  to  a  friend,  as  he  lay  writh 
ing  in  agony,  that  he  was  not  afraid  to  die  ;  he  only  wished  that  death  might 
come  soon  to  relieve  him  of  the  dreadful  pain  he  suffered.  All  who  have  come  in 
contact  with  Mcllvain,  pronounce  him  a  young  man  of  remarkable  promise  and 
most  excellent  qualities,  social  and  otherwise,  and  one  who  would  have  made- 


98  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

a  noteworthy  mark  in  the  world  had  he  been  spared.  He  is  universally 
lamented  in  his  corps,  with  which  he  had  been  connected  since  the  nth  of  last 
August,  and  Captain  Durell  mourns  in  him  his  best  and  most  trustworthy 
officer,  which  is  saying  nothing  derogatory  to  the  other  brave  men  in  his  com 
mand. 

"  The  cavalry  turned  back.  The  next  moment  the  expected  shell  the 
first  one  of  the  fight — passed  over  the  train,  and  a  short  time  afterward  occurred 
the  very  charge  anticipated  by  Captain  Plato,  which  was  successfully  met  and 
repulsed  by  our  infantry  and  cavalry  at  the  bridge.  The  long  line  of  heavy 
wagons,  many  of  them  filled  with  ammunition — which  had  passed  the  turn, 
now  found  themselves  slowly  and  toilsomely  crossing  a  boggy  meadow,  filled 
with  mud-holes  and  ditches.  Over  their  heads — the  hill  upon  which  our  bat 
teries  were  planted  partially  protecting  them  — flew  the  rebel  missiles,  many  of 
them  bursting  directly  over  the  train.  Some  wagons  were  struck,  though  gen 
erally  the  enemy  fired  too  high.  One  driver  was  hit  by  a  shell,  which  frac 
tured  his  right  leg  and  disabled  two  mules.  One  ammunition  wagon  had  the 
tail-board  knocked  out  by  a  shell,  which  fortunately  did  not  explode.  Two 
wagons  laden  with  oats  were  disabled,  their  contents  being  saved  and  the 
wagons  burned  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  A  horse 
was  left  behind,  used  up  and  worthless  for  the  time,  which  I  had  the  '  melan- 
cholly  pleasure  '  of  shooting  for  the  same  purpose.  With  these  exceptions, 
the  entire  train  was  got  off  in  safety,  having  been  extricated  from  an  exceedingly 
unpleasant  predicament.  The  Second  Brigade,  General  Ferrero,  being  nearest 
the  train,  had  meanwhile  been  ordered  back  to  its  protection.  General  Getty, 
of  the  Third  Division,  followed  by  General  Burns  of  the  First,  arrived  on  the 
ground  about  9.30  o'clock,  and  by  10  o'clock,  Benjamin's  famous  battery,  E, 
2nd  United  States  Artillery,  took  up  a  commanding  position  on  the  hill,  above 
the  ruined  hotel,  and  opened  on  the  enemy  with  his  six  20-pound  Parrotts, 
silencing  his  guns  in  about  half  an  hour." 

After  the  Confederates  were  driven  from  the  field,  Durell' s 
Battery  followed  the  division  and  encamped  within  a  mile  of  Fay- 
etteville,  beside  its  old  comrades  of  King's  Division,  to  which  it 
was  formerly  attached.  A  rough  coffin  was  made  by  the  battery 
artificers,  and  the  remains  of  Lieutenant  Mcllvain  placed  therein 
for  shipment  to  his  late  home  at  Reading,  which  could  not  be 
done,  however,  until  Warrenton  Junction  was  reached,  on  the  lyth. 
The  next  morning  the  division  moved  off  promptly  at  a  quick  pace, 
which  was  kept  up  throughout  the  day's  march.  In  the  evening  it 
encamped  along  the  railroad  a  mile  south  of  Warrenton  Junction. 

The  command  broke  camp  early  on  the  morning  of  November 
iyth,  taking  the  Fredericksburg  road — the  same  highway  upon 
which  the  battery  had  moved  three  times  before.  The  army 
marched  in  three  columns — artillery  and  baggage  trains  on  the 
road,  and  a  column  of  infantry  on  either  side  of  it.  All  were 
urged  forward  at  a  quick  pace  and  few  halts  were  made.  The  rear 


ARTILLERY  DUEL  AT  SULPHUR  SPRINGS. 


99 


of  each  division  was  followed  by  a  strong  guard  so  placed  for  the  pur 
pose  of  preventing  straggling,  which  was  certain  to  result  in  capture  by 
the  enemy.  It  was  a  race  to  reach  Fredericksburg  before  the  Con 
federates  got  possession  of  the  town.  In  the  evening  the  command 
halted  near  the  old  mill  on  the  Catlett  Station  road. 

The  troops  were  called  up  before  daylight  the  next  morning 
and  again  urged  forward.  The  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  King's  and 
Rickett's  Divisions,  were  passed  bivouacking  at  the  Brick  Church, 
where  they  had  stopped  for  the  night  on  ground  which  had,  on  a 
previous  march,  been  the  camping  place  of  the  battery. 

Reveille  was  sounded  at  4  o'clock  on  the  iQth.  The  troops 
moved  at  daylight,  reaching  the  Rappahannock  River,  opposite 
Fredericksburg,  at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  soon  ascer 
tained  that  the  enemy  was  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  await 
ing  the  arrival  of  Burnside's  army. 


ioo  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURG. 

THE  battery  was  at  once  placed  in  position  on  the  bank  of 
the  river,  near  the  Lacey  House,  ready  to  open  its  guns 
upon  the  city.  The  enemy's  pickets  were  upon  the  oppo 
site  banks  of  the  stream,  but  offered  no  resistance  to  the  Union 
troops'  taking  position  in  front  of  them.  On  the  contrary,  the 
meeting  was  rather  of  a  friendly  nature,  the  pickets  conversing 
across  the  stream,  and  twitting  each  other  over  the  incidents  and 
misfortunes  of  the  war.  " Johnny  Reb  "  would  ask  his  Yankee 
opponent  how  he  liked  Bull  Run,  and  the  Yankee  would  in  return 
inquire  for  his  estimate  of  Antietam.  The  next  day  Benjamin's 
Battery  opened  upon  a  train  of  cars  that  was  hauling  stores  out  of 
the  city,  firing  several  shots,  none  of  them,  however,  doing  any 
visible  damage.  During  the  night  the  camp  was  drenched  by  a  cold 
rain  storm,  which  made  the  quarters  of  the  men  very  uncomforta 
ble.  In  a  letter  dated  November  2ist,  published  in  the  Bucks 
County  Intelligencer,  Sergeant  Andrews  describes  the  condition  of 
the  camp  as  follows  : 

"Dismal,  rainy  weather,  with  high  winds,  driving  the  rain  into  the  fronts 
of  the  tarpaulin  tents.  The  straw  in  front  of  the  beds  is  trodden  into  the  mud, 
and  presents  a  most  filthy  appearance,  reminding  one  of  a  dirty  hog-pen.  The 
large  number  of  men  quartered  in  each  tent  soon  had  the  earth  trampled  into 
liquid  mud.  The  tents  are  also  rendered  more  unpleasant  and  untenantable  by 
the  mire  and  filth  which  ran  into  them  from  the  picket  ropes.  The  men  were 
rather  unfortunate  in  the  position  of  their  tents,  being  in  rear  of  the  caissons, 
on  the  slope  of  the  hill.  The  battery  is  in  regular  position,  the  limbers  some 
distance  in  rear  of  the  guns,  and  the  line  of  caissons  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  in 
rear  of  them.  The  object  is  to  keep  all  concealed,  so  that  the  enemy  can  see 
nothing  but  the  flash  of  our  guns,  should  we  be  compelled  to  use  them.  Every 
knoll  along  the  river,  both  above  and  below  the  town,  has  a  battery  in  position 
on  it.  The  guns  below  the  town  command  the  country  for  miles  down  the 
railroad  and  the  Bowling  Green  road.  The  country  opposite  us,  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  discern,  is  a  level  plain,  clear  of  woodland  as  it  follows  the  railroad. 
We  can  see  the  smoke  and  escaping  steam  from  an  approaching  engine  for  nearly 
four  miles.  Directly  opposite  us,  within  a  couple  of  miles,  are  hill's  through 
which  the  plank  road  to  (Jordonsville  and  the  telegraph  road  to  Richmond  go. 
On  these  hills  the  enemy  are  in  position,  but  we  can  see  very  few  of  them  mov 
ing  about.  The  wagon  trains  of  the  rebels  took  these  loads,  We  could  see 


BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURG.  101 

them  very  plainly  as  they  went  out,  the  country  intervening  being  cleared. 
The  residences  below  the  town  are  very  fine,  and  present  a  much  handsomer 
appearance  than  any  of  the  buildings  in  the  town.  The  inmates  do  not  appear  to 
be  at  all  non-plussed  by  the  Yankees,  as  they  move  about  attending  to  their 
work.  The  infantry»in  camp  on  our  old  drill  ground  are  in  a  dreadful  condi 
tion  this  morning.  The  ground  formed  a  natural  basin,  and  the  poor  fellows 
were  flooded  out.  General  Sturgis  and  staff,  likewise  in  quarters  there,  shared 
the  same  fate.  They  all  stood  out  in  the  rain  together,  this  morning,  rubbing 
their  noses  over  sickly  fires.  Occasionally  we  hear  a  rifle  going  plick,  plick,  up 
the  river;  the  pickets  indulging  in  a  little  familiarity  with  each  other  by  exchang 
ing  leaden  pills.  The  enemy  has  his  pickets  posted  in  the  houses  and  under  the 
porches  of  the  town.  The  rebels  started  the  foundry  over  in  the  town  to  run 
ning.  Hurnside  destroyed  all  the  machinery  the  Government  had  put  there 
before  he  left,  last  summer  ;  also  the  wire  bridge  he  had  erected.  The  enemy 
destroyed  the  bridge  at  Falmouth  the  day  of  the  late  skirmish  here,  and  then 
forded  the  river.  The  rebels  have  completely  gutted  the  country.  The  train 
that  went  out  yesterday  did  not  get  a  grain  of  corn.  What  little  plunder  the 
inhabitants  have  they  are  willing  to  trade  off  for  a  little  salt  ;  but  salt  being  none 
too  plentiful  with  us,  they  did  not  get  much  of  it.  They  asked  seventy-five 
cents  per  dozen  for  eggs.  The  negroes  commenced  flocking  in  and  the  general 
put  them  to  work,  building  bridges  and  roads.  The  old  factory  building  oppo 
site  Falmouth,  used  by  us  last  summer  as  a  hospital,  was  illuminated  at  night. 
Their  pickets  are  again  on  the  river  bank  with  large  fires  to  mark  their  posts. 
Ours  are  on  this  side  directly  opposite.  The  pickets  are  all  on  friendly  terms 
and  carry  on  conversation  during  the  day.  This  makes  their  duty  more  pleas 
ant,  especially  as  they  do  not  fear  being  shot  at,  picket  firing  having  been  abol 
ished  by  both  sides.  Our  supplies  are  now  drawn  from  Belle  Plain.  The  rain 
made  the  roads  very  heavy,  and  whole  trains  are  sometimes  stuck  in  the  mud. 
The  mail  that  went  out  yesterday  was  so  large  that  three  wagons  were  required 
to  convey  it,  and  five  wagons  are  required  to  bring  in  the  mails  due  us.  From 
the  scarcity  of  lights  in  the  houses,  the  inhabitants  must  have  nearly  all  left 
town,  or  darkened  the  windows  with  heavy  curtains.  The  bands  are  tantali/- 
ing  the  rebels  to-night,  serenading  the  general  at  Lacey's  house.  They  are 
giving  them  '  Hail  Columbia,'  '  Yankee  Doodle,'  etc.  No  doubt  the  airs  of 
those  old-time  and  once  familiar  tunes  are  very  pleasant  to  secession  ears.  We 
had  our  tattoo  roll  call  at  7  o'clock,  the  men  being  all  anxious  to  go  to  bed  to 
get  warm.  Soldiering  is  a  good  business  to  learn  sleeping  in.  Some  of  the 
men,  I  really  believe,  slept  nearly  the  whole  twenty-four  hours,  barely  taking  time 
for  their  meals.  Others  have  the  cook's  trench  for  their  idol,  living  there  nearly  all 
the  time.  I  hear  a  large  crowd  there  now,  talking,  waiting  to  fill  their  fat  boxes, 
as  the  cooks  are  now  boiling  off  meat.  This  may  be  a  laughable  idea  to  you, 
that  men  should  load  down  their  haversacks  with  boxes  and  bottles  of  grease. 
I  consider  it  a  fine  idea,  as  it  gives  us  many  a  piece  of  fried  meat,  as  well  as 
fried  mush  and  crackers.  Tied  to  the  knapsacks,  or  hung  on  the  muskets  of 
half  the  infantrymen  that  pass  us,  you  can  see  the  little  frying  pan.  Any  one 
of  them  would  throw  away  his  knapsack  and  its  contents  before  he  would  give 
up  his  little  pan.  The  ground  is  so  moist  that  we  have  considerable  trouble  in 
keeping  our  horses  fastened.  The  horses  pull  out  their  stakes  and  keep  the 
corporals  on  the  race  after  them." 


102  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  22nd  was  a  quiet  day,  with  the  exception  of  an  occa 
sional  cannon-shot  fired  whenever  the  enemy  attempted  to  move  a 
train.  They  were  seen  to  be  engaged  in  building  earthworks  on 
the  heights  back  of  the  city.  The  pickets  still  maintained  friendly 
communications.  The  battery  mail- carrier  brought  into  camp  a 
large  back  mail,  which  was  gladly  welcomed  by  the  men.  Orders 
were  received  the  next  day  to  shell  any  train  of  cars  seen  to  be 
moving  within  the  enemy's  lines,  but  no  such  attempt  being  made, 
the  battery  missed  an  opportunity  to  practice  in  marksmanship. 

The  reveille  was  sounded  at  4  o'clock  on  the  24th,  Bell's  Land 
ing,  on  the  Potomac  River,  being  reported  as  the  destination  of 
the  march.  The  command  moved  at  sunrise  to  headquarters,  at 
the  Phillips'  House,  where  the  order  was  countermanded.  The 
battery  went  into  camp  about  half  a  mile  back  of  its  late  position 
on  the  banks  of  the  river,  upon  ground  which  had  that  morning 
been  vacated  by  Romer's  Battery.  The  next  day  it  was  inspected 
by  a  major  of  the  regular  army,  and  a  new  supply  of  ammunition 
was  received. 

The  26th  was  employed  by  the  drivers  in  washing  and  oiling 
the  artillery  harness,  which  was  always  a  distasteful  duty.  Thurs 
day,  November  2yth,  was  Thanksgiving  Day.  Many  of  the  boys 
went  out  into  the  woods  and  fields  beyond  the  limits  of  the  camps, 
hunting  for  rabbits,  which  were  plentiful.  The  following  is  taken 
from  Andrew's  journal  : 

'  Have  received  no  orders  to  observe  Thanksgiving  Day.  Never  pre 
sumed  to  keep  any  holiday,  or  even  Sunday,  unless  so  ordered  by  the  com 
manding  general.  Everything  around  us  has  been  very  quiet,  scarely  a  sound 
being  heard.  The  men  are  scattered  around  in  groups  sunning  themselves, 
engaged  in  playing  at  cards,  a  very  favorite  amusement  with  them  ;  a  few 
sleeping,  and  a  few  are  writing  or  reading. 

"We  received  an  order  relieving  Lieutenant  Loeser  from  duty  as  acting 
ordnance  officer  of  the  Second  Division,  and  returning  him  to  the  battery  on 
duty.  We  are  pleased  with  his  return  for  we  miss  him  very  much,  and  have 
become  more  attached  to  him  than  any  other  of  our  officers.  He  was  a  captain 
in  the  New  York  Fire  Zouaves,  of  which  regiment  his  brother  was  colonel. 

"  The  men  enjoyed  the  evening  with  various  sports.  At  first  they  started  a 
straight  four,  but  the  want  of  the  proper  '  cat  gut '  compelled  them  to  give  up 
the  stag  performances.  Then  th-  rough  but  exhilirating  game  of  'leapfrog' 
followed.  This  afforded  them  more  amusement  than  any  other  of  their  games  ; 
many  a  poor  fellow  received  a  good  tumble,  and  had  his  dainty  fingers  smashed 
by  the  j0tt/-less  remains  of  a  pair  of  No.  n  boots.  Then  came  a  Fourth  of 
July  oration,  pure  spread-eagle  style  the  ceremonies  closing  with  the  freaks  of 
the  wonderful  elephant.  The  aforesaid  animal  closed  his  eventful  career  by 
losing  his  skin,  having  been  led  into  the  bushes,  and  in  his  struggles  to  extricate 
himself,  losing  the  dirty  horse  blanket. 


BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURG.  103 

Nwember  28 th. — "  The  first  locomotive  came  up  to  Fredericksburg  to-day. 
Its  approach  was  hailed  with  delight  by  all  the  troops,  and  visions  of  boxes, 
pies,  etc.,  came  floating  in  beautiful  confusion  before  the  men's  eyes." 

On  the  29111  the  old  routine  of  foot,  gun  and  field  drills  was 
resumed,  and  a  rigid  system  of  camp  police  instituted.  Every 
scrap  of  dirt,  stick  or  stone,  was  removed  from  the  camp  ground 
and  everything  belonging  to  the  command  put  in  good  order  and 
at  its  proper  place. 

On  the  yth  of  December  the  men  were  ordered  to  go  to  the 
woods  and  procure  timber  for  hut  building.  The  construction  of 
winter  quarters  was  begun  with  a  will,  as  all  hands  were  eager  to 
have  comfortable  shelter.  The  orders  came  none  too  soon,  for 
cold  weather  and  snow  soon  followed,  and  the  men  were  poorly 
clad.  Many  of  their  garments  were  badly  worn,  and  some  of  the 
men  were  almost  barefoot.  Andrew's  journal  of  the  yth  says  : 

"  Last  night  was  the  coldest  we  have  had  this  winter  thus  far.  The  wind 
was  high  and  the  air  keen.  The  ground  is  white  with  snow  except  where  foot 
paths  have  been  made.  The  traveling  is  bad,  the  mire  being  deep  and  frozen 
on  the  top.  Heavy  artillery  is  coming  to  the  front.  This  morning  a  special 
train  brought  seven  twenty-pounder  Rodman  guns.  Goods  and  stores  of  all 
kinds  are  arriving  daily  for  the  use  of  the  troops.  The  officers  have  received 
orders  for  all  duty  to  be  suspended  for  the  present,  and  for  the  officers  and  men 
to  make  themselves  comfortable,  and  the  teams  to  be  used  in  hauling  logs,  etc., 
necessary  for  the  construction  of  huts.  This  is  the  first  Sunday  that  we  have 
not  heard  the  church  bells  of  Fredericksburg  ring.  The  old  town  clock,  how 
ever,  still  thunders  away  undisturbed.  Any  number  of  chimneys  can  be  seen 
sending  out  their  columns  of  smoke,  intimating  that  there  is  some  life  as  yet 
in  the  town.  It  is  thought  that  the  greater  number  of  the  houses  are  aban 
doned  by  the  proper  inmates  and  are  now  tenanted  by  the  dirty  rebel  soldiery. 
The  enemy  does  not  show  us  near  so  many  of  his  men  as  when  we  first 
came  here.  We  see  none  now  except  the  pickets  on  the  river  bank,  and  by  the 
aid  of  a  glass,  those  at  work  on  the  fortifications.  The  employees  on  the  railroad 
are  kept  hard  at  work.  Trains  are  running  in  and  out  every  hour  of  the  day 
and  night.  With  all  their  running  the  commissariat  does  not  seem  to  make 
much  headway.  The  piles  of  stores  keep  about  the  same  size.  The  teams 
haul  away  every  day  about  as  much  as  is  brought  in." 

When  orders  were  received  on  the  9th,  to  have  three  days' 
cooked  rations  on  hand  the  men  began  to  lose  interest  in  the  work  of 
building  winter  quarters.  About  noon  of  the  loth,  building  oper 
ations  were  stopped  and  the  men  were  excited  and  discouraged. 
The  work  on  the  stables  was  progressing  rapidly,  and  they  were 
fast  approaching  completion,  when  Captain  Durell  ordered  the 
men  to  cease  working  for  the  present,  and  to  make  themselves 
ready  for  a  march  at  8  o'clock  in  the  evening.  He  stopped  the 


104  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

work  because  he  thought  it  improbable  that  the  battery  would  be 
returned  to  the  same  place. 

It  was  a  cold  night,  with  nearly  two  inches  of  snow  upon  the 
ground.  The  battery  took  position  on  the  heights  of  the  river 
bank  just  below  Falmouth.  The  implements  suspended  to  the 
gun  carriages  and  everything  that  was  liable  to  rattle  or  make  a 
sound  were  muffled  Loud  talking  was  forbidden,  and  every  pre 
caution  taken  to  keep  the  enemy  in  ignorance  of  the  movement. 
Fires  were  prohibited,  and  every  man  was  expected  to  sleep — if  at 
all — at  his  post.  By  orders  nothing  was  taken  along  but  over 
coats  and  blankets ;  knapsacks  being  left  behind  in  the  camp  in 
care  of  the  cooks  and  teamsters.  A  rubber  blanket,  a  woolen 
blanket  and  an  overcoat  spread  upon  the  snow  was  the  best  bed 
at  hand,  and  the  canopy  of  heaven,  dotted  with  bright  and  twink 
ling  stars  of  a  wintry  sky  the  only  shelter  for  the  troops.  The 
men  sought  rest  in  their  novel  beds,  some  of  them  soon  falling  to 
sleep,  while  others,  being  suddenly  apprised  of  a  very  cold  sensa 
tion  in  the  back  or  side  produced  by  the  melting  snow  as  it  was 
thawed  by  the  heat  from  their  bodies,  arose  and  paced  backward 
and  forward  the  remainder  of  the  night.  There  were  some  in  the 
command  unmindful  of  such  a  trifle  as  a  pool  of  ice  water,  and 
slept  throughout  the  night. 

The  wakeful  ones  moved  about  to  keep  their  blood  in  circula 
tion,  reflecting  on  the  vicissitudes  of  a  soldier's  life;  speculating 
about  the  outcome  of  the  battle  which  would  begin  with  the  dawn 
of  day,  and  thinking  of  home  and  the  loved  ones  there,  peacefully 
sleeping  in  warm  beds.  It  was  a  long,  cold  and  cheerless  night; 
but  it  ended  at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  the  first  boom  of 
cannon  brought  every  man  to  his  feet,  and  sent  him  to  his  post 
ready  for  action.  Next  the  musketry  was  opened  and  soon  grew 
heavy  down  the  river  where  the  pontoons  were  being  laid  to  afford 
facilities  for  crossing  They  were  being  put  down  at  the  same 
place  occupied  by  the  pontoon  of  the  summer  before.  The  Con 
federates  occupied  every  house  along  the  river  front  within  rifle 
shot  of  the  pontoons,  shooting  from  doors,  windows,  cellars,  holes 
bored  through  walls,  etc.  The  Union  artillery,  which  was  posted 
on  the  banks  of  the  river,forming  an  unbroken  line  from  Falmouth 
to  a  point  below  the  city,  next  opened  a  bombardment  upon  Fred- 
ericksburg.  Within  three-quarters  of  a  mile  were  posted  thirteen 
batteries.  The  roar  and  thunder  of  the  belching  cannon  was 
terrific.  The  echo  along  the  river  added  to  the  awful  din.  The 


BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURG.  105 

batteries  were  all  ordered  to  fire  on  the  city  and  demolish  it,  and 
drive  out  the  enemy's  sharpshooters.  The  fog  was  so  dense  that 
the  opposite  side  could  scarcely  be  seen,  and  the  smoke  of  battle 
was  almost  suffocating. 

Toward  noon  the  fog  cleared  away,  when  it  was  seen  that  many 
of  the  shots  had  not  struck  the  city,  having  been  fired  too  high. 
As  soon  as  this  was  discovered  the  elevation  of  the  guns  was  lowered, 
and  the  sound  produced  by  crashing  shells  and  falling  bricks  indicated 
that  the  fire  was  now  more  effective.  The  engineers,  supported  by 
a  strong  force  of  infantry,  had  been  working  hard  to  bridge  the 
stream  since  4  o'clock,  but  every  step  was  contested  by  the  enemy 
with  a  storm  of  bullets.  At  last  the  yth  Michigan  and  2oth  Massachu 
setts  Regiments  took  a  desperate  chance.  Jumping  into  the  boats  and 
quickly  rowing  into  the  stream,  they  gained  the  opposite  shore 
through  a  murderous  fire,  in  which  many  of  their  number  were 
killed  and  wounded.  But  the  regiment  was  successful  in  effecting 
a  landing  and  in  maintaining  it,  and  the  bridge  was  finished  about 
4  P.  M.  The  troops  promptly  began  to  cross  over,  and  as  soon  as 
they  reached  the  opposite  bank  the  fighting  became  general.  The 
musketry  fire  through  the  streets  was  very  heavy,  the  enemy  mak 
ing  a  strong  resistance,  but  he  was  finally  driven  to  his  intrench- 
ments  on  the  heights  beyond  the  town. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Confederates  had  not  used  their  artillery 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  desultory  shots,  aimed  at  points  above 
and  below  the  city.  They  now  opened  their  batteries  and  com 
menced  playing  on  the  troops  crossing  the  river.  DurelPs  Battery 
began  firing  on  the  town  about  daylight,  doing  so  slowly,  not  car 
ing  to  waste  much  ammunition,  and  continued  it  for  an  hour  or 
more,  when  it  was  ordered  not  to  fire  unless  the  enemy's  infantry 
were  seen.  The  Confederate  pickets  kept  at  their  posts  along  the 
river  across  from  the  battery,  their  reserve  lying  covered  behind  a 
mill  and  stone  wall  immediately  opposite.  Captain  Durell  gave 
them  the  benefit  of  a  couple  of  case  shots,  which  had  no  other 
effect,  however,  than  to  make  them  hug  the  closer  to  their  cover. 
A  battery  on  a  hill  in  the  rear  commenced  firing  on  the  Confeder 
ate  works  in  the  afternoon,  and  some  of  their  projectiles  burst 
directly  over  DurelPs  command  making  the  place  rather  uncomfort 
able. 

Night  coming  on,  each  man  made  preparations  for  sleeping. 
The  ground  was  still  pretty  well  covered  with  snow,  but  fires  were 
now  permitted,  which  were  made  large,  and  heavy  pieces  of  logs 


106  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

placed  on  them  to  keep  them  burning  through  the  night.  Each 
fire  was  early  in  the  evening  encircled  by  a  squad  of  weary,  sleepy 
soldiers.  Nothing  happened  to  disturb  their  rest  and  they  were 
permitted  to  enjoy  a  refreshing  sleep.  The  following  account  of 
the  remaining  days  of  the  battle  is  taken  from  Andrew's  journal  : 

December  i2th. — "  Our  horses  were  all  fed,  as  well  as  ourselves,  by  day 
light,  and  the  limbers  refilled  with  ammunition  from  the  caissons,  expecting 
rather  heavy  work  during  the  day.  The  sun  rose  beautifully  and  the  atmos 
phere  clear,  giving  every  indication  of  a  sunshiny  day  for  the  fight,  which  it 
turned  to  be.  The  rebels  commenced  firing  early  in  the  morning.  We,  how 
ever,  paid  no  particular  attention  to  them,  as  what  few  shots  they  did  attempt 
to  throw  struck  in  the  river  banks  below  us.  At  9  A.  M.  we  commenced  firing, 
continuing  only  twenty  minutes.  We  fired  but  little,  as  we  were  in  a  very 
exposed  position  and  did  not  care  to  draw  their  fire  on  us,  or  even  to  waste  our 
ammunition  on  trifles.  All  of  our  shot,  except  a  few  condemned  ones,  did 
what  they  were  called  on  to  do.  Colonel  Hayes,  under  whose  charge  the  bat 
teries  were,  seeing  that  we  were  in  danger  from  bursting  shells  of  our  own 
artillery,  ordered  us  to  move  and  take  position  in  the  earthworks  just  in  rear  of 
Falmouth.  We  had  no  objection  to  this,  and  quietly  moved  our  plunder, 
passing  through  Sykes'  Division  of  Regulars.  When  we  halted  we  found  our 
selves  on  a  knoll  overlooking  the  whole  battle-field.  We  discovered  that  our 
neighbors  were  the  party  who  had  been  throwing  the  iron  over  our  heads. 
Everything  was  here  just  to  suit  us.  From  these  forts  we  had  a  splendid 
range  on  all  the  rebel  works  on  our  left.  From  these  works  they  commenced 
firing  a  few  minutes  before  3  P.  M.  As  soon  as  their  first  gun  had  emitted  its 
smoke  our  boys  were  at  their  posts  and  played  into  them  lively — so  much  so 
that  I  fear  many  a  cracked  head  can  testify  to  the  correctness  of  our  aim.  We 
were  firing  at  pretty  high  elevation  —  fifteen  degrees— and  at  a  distance  of  over 
3,000  yards.  The  shot  used  was  percussion  shell,  which  bursts  on  striking  any 
object.  We  continued  firing  until  sunset.  The  firing  became  general  along 
the  whole  lines  this  afternoon.  Large  trains  of  sutlers'  wagons  were  coming 
in  all  day,  but  their  trade  in  tobacco  was  somewhat  spoiled  by  the  troops,  who 
were  selling  the  tobacco  they  had  fished  out  of  the  river.  Tobacco  was  sold  at 
the  rate  of  two  plugs  for  one  cent.  The  tobacco  was  so  tightly  packed  that  it 
was  not  injured  by  the  water.  Towards  evening,  as  I  was  standing  at  the  left 
of  the  works,  watching  the  operations,  I  was  surprised  at  seeing  Lieutenant 
Gensel  coming  along.  He  looks  remarkably  well.  He  tells  me  that  he  had 
been  unwell,  and  was  still  under  the  weather.  Having  picked  out  a  compara 
tively  dry  spot — for  all  was  mud — we  rolled  in  for  the  night. 

December  I3th.  —  "  A  heavy  dew  fell  during  the  night,  making  our  blankets 
very  wet.  At  10  the  firing  commenced  on  the  left,  and  continued  all  day. 
Such  another  racket  I  never  heard.  The  rattle  of  musketry  was  equal  to  the 
cannonading  of  Thursday.  The  smoke  soon  hid  the  city  from  view,  and  all  we 
could  see  in  that  direction  was  the  belching  of  the  guns.  Early  in  the  morning 
we  received  orders  to  be  ready  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice.  Our  horses  were 
kept  harnessed  all  day  and  night.  The  infantry  were  firing  all  night  opposite 
us.  The  balloon  went  up  a  number  of  times  during  the  day.  We  opened  fire 
at  II  o'clock  A.  M.,  but  fired  only  a  few  rounds,  being  ordered  to  cease,  and 


BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURG.  107 

only  to  fire  when  the  enemy  opened  on  us.  At  1.45  P.  M.  opened  again,  on  a 
rebel  battery  that  was  bold  enough  to  come  out  in  front  of  the  fortifications. 
This  concern  soon  retired  from  business.  Sykes'  men  moving  out,  furnished 
us  with  luxuries — wood  and  boards.  We  soon  put  up  a  shanty,  adorned  on 
the  sides,  back  and  front  with  damask  curtains  made  of  oat  bags — a  very 
stylish  affair.  After  dark  we  all  went  over  to  a  ruined  house  on  our  left  and 
•watched  the  night  lighting.  It  was  supremely  grand.  We  could  distinctly  see 
the  flashes  of  musketry  on  both  sides  ;  and  the  burning  fuses  on  the  shells,  as 
they  passed  through  the  air,  resembled  so  many  meteors. 

December  t4th. —  "The  infantry  commenced  firing  early  in  the  morning. 
We  were  ordered  to  move  again,  and  take  positions  on  a  hill  above  Falmouth. 
Two  sections  were  posted  in  a  very  fine  peach  orchard.  The  other  was  in 
advance,  on  the  road.  The  position  being  much  exposed,  the  caissons  were 
sent  about  two  miles  around,  to  come  in  safely.  We  had  barely  arrived,  when 
a  solid  shot  came  plunging  along  ahead  of  us,  tearing  up  the  ground  fearfully. 
It  ricochetted  and  struck  a  fence  on  top  of  a  hill  about  300  yards  before  us.  The 
summit  of  the  hill  was  filled  with  gaping  infantry,  who  were  soon  taken  with 
the  leaves,  and  created  a  scene  I  never  before  saw  and  certainly  will  never 
forget.  They  considered  it  a  dangerous  locality.  The  battery  was  posted  by  a 
large  frame  house,  the  family  having  left  it.  They  came  back  in  the  afternoon, 
young  ones  and  all.  At  4  30  P.  M.  we  opened  fire,  disturbing  our  madam,  and 
she  left  for  parts  out  of  range.  We  tried  their  cellar,  and  got  just  so  far  as  to 
see  the  apples,  potatoes,  etc.;  but  white  oak  bars  said  '  Hands  off.'  Amused 
ourselves  during  the  day  in  cooking  and  eating.  Pitched  our  bed  on  the  sod, 
under  an  apple  tree,  and  spent  the  first  comfortable  night  out. 

December  i^th. —  "Quiet  all  morning,  orders  being  to  keep  out  of  sight. 
At  noon  opened  fire  and  gave  the  rebels  the  benefit  of  a  few  shots.  Made  such 
accurate  shots  that  we  were  complimented  by  Colonel  Hayes,  who  sent  down 
an  orderly  for  that  purpose.  We  again  fired  towards  evening  ;  this  was  the 
last  firing  we  did. 

December  idth.  — "  Woke  up  this  morning  to  find  ourselves  in  a  very  wet 
bed.  Rain  commenced  about  3  P.  M.,  and  the  water  ran  under  us  like  young 
rivers.  The  battery  moved  and  was  parked  in  a  woods  about  half  a  mile  to  the 
right  of  our  old  position,  with  orders  to  remain  where  we  were,  in  readiness  to 
resume  the  old  position.  Here  the  men  rigged  up  quarters  out  of  cedar  and 
pine  brush,  which  were  pretty  comfortable — had  plenty  to  eat,  and  plenty  of 
wood  to  burn.  Whose  business  is  it  if  we  did  kill  a  cow  that  would  have  a  calf 
in  a  few  days,  and  eat  her  ?  The  owners  were  hunting  her,  but  nobody  could 
tell  where  the  cow  was.  To-day  is  the  anniversary  of  our  coming  into  Dixie. 
We  did  not  celebrate  it,  it  not  being  a  very  joyful  occasion.  During  the  fight 
we  expended  the  following  ammunition  :  125  time  shells,  60  percussion  shells, 
7  case  shot." 

General  Burnside,  finding  the  enemy's  works  beyond  the  city 
impregnable  to  the  assault  of  his  army,  and  hampered  by  the  half 
hearted  efforts  of  his  corps  commanders,  who  were  infected  with 
jealousy  of  him  and  of  each  other,  determined  to  withdraw  from 
the  field.  This  movement  was  begun  on  the  evening  of  the  isth, 


io8  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

a  very  dark  and  stormy  night  favoring  the  movement,  so  that  the 
whole  army  recrossed  the  river  by  daylight  on  the  i6th,  without 
the  enemy's  knowledge.  Even  some  portions  of  the  Union  picket 
line  was  not  aware  of  the  retreat  to  the  other  shore,  until  daylight 
revealed  the  situation.  They  at  once  withdrew  as  stealthily  and 
quickly  as  possible,  but  not  soon  enough  for  some  of  their  number 
to  escape  capture  by  the  enemy.  Several  of  them  came  down  to 
the  river  directly  opposite  the  position  occupied  by  Durell's  Bat 
tery,  and  waded  through  the  stream,  which  was  at  this  point  shal 
low  and  full  of  rocks.  The  troops  were  very  much  depressed  in 
spirits.  They  had  fought  hard  and  lost  over  twelve  thousand  of 
their  number.  Nothing  had  been  gained.  On  the  other  hand 
the  Confederates  were  elated.  Their  pickets  soon  returned  to 
their  former  posts  on  the  river  bank,  and  guyed  the  Union  troops 
on  their  failure  to  carry  the  heights.  It  was  a  gloomy  day  for  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac. 

All  was  quiet  along  the  lines  on  the  i6th,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  shells  from  the  enemy's  cannon,  which  were  thrown  in  the 
morning  at  some  retiring  squads  of  pickets.  DurelF  s  Battery  moved 
into  a  neighboring  cedar  woods  and  parked  its  guns  by  the  side  of 
Benjamin's  Battery.  A  ration  of  whiskey  was  issued  to  the  men 
The  weather  was  very  cold  for  camping  without  tents,  but  the  men 
put  up  fairly  comfortable  shelter  of  cedar  brush.  The  rations  of 
food  were  drawn  by  detachments,  which  was  brought  over  from  the 
cook  house  in  the  old  camp  by  the  teams. 

The  battery  remained  in  its  cedar  bivouac,  with  nothing  to  do 
during  the  cold  weather  which  prevailed  but  keep  up  the  fires 
and  growl  at  the  quartermaster  for  not  furnishing  more  rations, 
until  Sunday,  the  2ist,  when  it  moved  back  to  its  old  camp. 
Arriving  about  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  men  immediately 
resumed  the  work  of  completing  the  huts,  which  had  been  left 
unfinished  on  the  departure  eleven  days  previous.  All  hands 
went  to  the  woods,  felled  pine  trees,  cut  logs  and  snaked  them  to 
camp,  laboring  with  fresh  zeal,  encouraged  by  the  prospect  of 
remaining  here  the  remainder  of  the  winter  to  enjoy  the  comforta 
ble  new  quarters. 

Orders  were  now  issued  requiring  the  men  of  each  gun  detach 
ment  to  bunk  together,  and  the  six  duty  sergeants  and  buglers  to 
occupy  a  separate  hut  near  the  captain's  quarters.  This  broke  up 
several  messes,  parting  boon  companions  and  mess  mates,  and 
caused  no  little  complaint.  But  it  was  one  of  the  inalienable  priv- 


BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURG.  109 

ileges  of  the  soldier  to  growl,  and  he  generally  availed  himself  of 
this  right  until  his  resentment  was  unloaded,  when  he  philosoph 
ically  submitted  to  the  inevitable.  In  this  case  he  soon  accommo 
dated  himself  to  his  new  surroundings,  and  all  lived  together  in 
harmony,  barring  a  jar  now  and  then,  which  is  said  to  occur  in  the 
best  regulated  families. 

On  the  23rd  the  weather  had  turned  clear  and  warm.  The 
men  were  called  up  early  and  set  to  the  work  of  cleaning  the  har 
ness  and  pieces.  At  1 1  o'clock  the  battery  joined  the  division  and 
was  reviewed  by  General  Sumner.  It  returned  to  camp  just  after 
dinner  time,  and,  after  receiving  their  rations,  the  men  again 
resumed  work  upon  the  huts.  The  next  day  being  warm  and 
pleasant  they  were  permitted  to  woik  upon  their  quarters  unham 
pered  by  other  duties.  The  25th  was  clear  and  very  pleasant  and 
nearly  all  of  the  new  quarters  received  the  finishing  touches.  With 
many  the  day  passed  without  a  thought  of  Christmas. 

The  huts  were  built  of  logs  to  the  height  of  six  feet,  and  were 
twelve  feet  square,  chincked  with  strips  of  wood  and  plastered  with 
mud.  Two  feet  of  earth  was  dug  out  and  banked  against  the  out 
side  of  the  structure,  which  made  the  interior  eight  feet  in  height. 
This  was  roofed  with  a  tarpaulin,  and  the  gable  ends  above  the 
square  were  enclosed  with  boards.  Some  of  the  huts  were  pro 
vided  with  a  window  in  the  gable.  All  contained  a  fire-place, 
some  of  which  were  built  of  brick.  Where  brick  could  not  be 
obtained,  logs  and  sticks  of  wood,  well  covered  with  mud,  were  the 
materials  used  in  the  construction  of  this  important  part  of  the 
building.  The  bunks  occupied  nearly  half  the  space  of  the  inte 
rior.  The  lower  one  was  set  two  feet  from  the  floor,  and  the 
upper  one  three  feet  above,  each  being  provided  with  mattress 
made  of  oat  bags  filled  with  pine  and  spruce.  Each  hut  was  de 
signed  to  accommodate  eight  men.  The  interior  of  them  was 
papered  with  newspapers,  and  some  were  furnished  with  benches, 
tables  and  other  furniture.  They  were  very  comfortable  quarters 
and  the  men  were  pleased  with  their  work.  Neither  the  Sibley 
tents  of  the  previous  winter,  nor  the  summer  quarters  down  near 
the  Lacey  House,  could  be  compared  with  those  now  provided. 
The  men  were  as  well  satisfied  in  their  huts  as  the  io4th  Regiment 
had  been  with  the  Carver  Barracks.  All  that  was  now  needed  to 
to  complete  their  happiness  was  a  visit  from  the  paymaster  and  the 
issue  of  new  clothing. 


no  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  quarters  having  been  completed,  Captain  Durell  ordered 
that  stables  be  built  for  the  horses.  They  were  constructed  with 
crotched  posts  and  poles  cut  and  brought  from  the  woods  and  cov 
ered  with  pine  and  spruce  boughs.  The  roof  was  a  miserable 
leaky  affair,  the  water  dripping  down  upon  the  horses  long  after  a 
rain-fall.  The  floor  was  made  of  a  corduroy  of  logs. 

New  clothing  came  on  the  26th,  and  the  men  were  supplied 
with  everything  needed  in  this  line,  with  the  exception  of  under 
clothing.  Amo  ag  the  garments  issued  were  woolen  jackets  intended 
for  the  Confederate  soldiers.  These  had  been  captured  with  an 
English  blockade  runner,  at  Wilmington,  N.  C.  The  following  are 
articles  of  clothing,  etc.,  with  prices  charged  to  the  men's  clothing 
account,  taken  from  the  descriptive  list  :  cap,  68  cents  ;  jacket, 
$5.84;  scales,  40  cents  ;  trousers,  $4;  shirt,  88  cents  ;  drawers, 
50  cents  ;  pair  bootees,  $2.91  ;  boots,  $3.33;  socks,  26  cents; 
great  coat,  $9.75;  knapsack  and  straps,  $2.57;  haversack,  48 
cents  ;  canteen,  34  cents  ;  stable  frock,  68  cents  ;  blanket,  $2.95. 

The  battery  was  again  taken  up  to  headquarters  for  review, 
this  time  by  the  corps  commander,  General  Willcox.  Captain 
Durell  acted  as  chief  of  artillery  of  the  division.  The  stables  were 
finished  on  the  29th.  On  the  3oth,  new  haversacks,  canteens, 
caps,  etc. ,  were  issued,  and  on  the  following  day  the  battery  was 
inspected  and  mustered  for  six  months'  pay,  by  Captain  Durell. 
The  men  made  a  fine  appearance  in  their  new  uniforms,  and  were 
in  excellent  condition  to  start  in  on  the  new  year. 

The  first  day  of  January,  1863,  was  free  from  drill  and  inspec 
tion,  and  the  men  were  given  permission  to  visit  neighboring  camps, 
or  celebrate  the  day  in  any  manner  they  might  choose.  The  feast 
was  but  the  ordinary  rations  on  this  occasion,  consisting  of  boiled 
rice  with  sugar,  for  dinner,  and  hard-tack,  fat  pork,  and  a  tin  cup 
of  strong  coffee,  slightly  sweetened,  for  supper.  A  few  of  the  men 
succeeded  in  procuring  whiskey  and  celebrated  the  day  in  quite  a 
lively  and  noisy  manner.  Nothing  of  importance  transpiring  for 
some  time,  the  men  were  permitted  to  enjoy  their  new  quarters, 
with  little  duty  to  perform.  They  were  under  marching  orders, 
however,  from  day  to  day,  which  was  a  menace  to  the  continuance 
of  their  ease  and  comfort,  and  which  they  did  not  relish.  Andrew's 
wrote  at  this  time  as  follows  : 

January  2nd.  —  "The  weather  is  as  much  like  2nd  of  May  as  2nd  of  Janu 
ary.  Early  in  the  morning  the  ground  was  covered  with  a  heavy  frost,  and  the 
air  was  very  cool,  but  as  soon  as  the  sun  came  out,  became  very  warm.  The 


BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURG.  in 

rebels  were  either  very  drunk  and  in  for  a  spree  last  night,  or  else  they  had  a 
very  sudden  turn  of  piety,  for  about  midnight  they  made  the  old  church  bells 
in  the  city  fairly  howl  by  their  ringing.  There  is  a  large  wagon  camp  just  on 
the  creek,  in  rear  of  our  camp.  The  drivers  are  mostly  negroes,  who  are  cele 
brating  the  holidays  this  evening.  The  whole  posse  of  them  are  as  cocked  as 
an  old  musket,  and  making  night  hideous  with  their  performances,  which  are 
really  ludicrous.  They  are  the  happy  possessors  of  an  old  squeaking  fiddle  ; 
poor  pussy  has  to  take  it  from  the  man  handling  the  bow.  I  was  over  awhile 
watching  them  going  it  on  the  double-shuffle.  It  was  a  very  fancy  show,  but 
by  no  means  equal  to  the  meeting  they  held  in  the  old  barn  last  summer,  or 
even  to  the  old  wench  sitting  in  the  shanty  door,  catching  fleas.  The  rebels  are 
torturing  the  old  bells  again  over  in  town,  completely  drowning  the  howlings  of 
the  curs  who  serenade  us  every  night.  The  balloon  was  up  to-day  much  higher 
than  any  time  I  have  seen  it  yet.  The  aeronaut  does  not  trust  himself  up  very 
long,  fearful,  1  reckon,  of  the  big  Whitworth  guns  over  the  river.  They  sent 
him  an  iron  pill  on  the  day  of  the  fight,  which  landed  far  in  his  rear,  but  was 
sufficient  notice  to  hurry  him  from  the  upper  regions.  The  President's  eman 
cipation  proclamation  has  made  considerable  stir  among  the  troops  on  both 
sides.  A  flag  of  truce  went  over  the  river  this  afternoon,  and  the  rebel 
pickets  inquired  if  they  were  after  darkies,  as  they  had  plenty  of  them  over 
there. 

Saturday,  January  jnt.  —  "The  Lacey  property  has  been  much  despoiled 
since  the  battle.  It  is  used  as  a  hospital,  and  as  wood  is  not  convenient  to  those 
in  charge,  the  hands  employed  about  it  have  cut  down  all  the  trees  on  the  grounds. 
It  is  a  shameful  piece  of  spoliation,  as  there  were  some  of  the  handsomest  trees 
among  them  that  ever  I  laid  my  eyes  on.  liut  war,  like  a  railroad  company, 
cares  but  little  for  the  beauty  of  the  route  traveled.  Orderlies  are  galloping  about 
with  hands  full  of  orders,  and  another  big  32-pounder  went  down  to  the  river 
fortifications  this  evening,  to  keep  company  with  the  seven  that  have  been  there 
since  the  battle.  Two  of  the  rebel  pickets  came  over  the  river  this  afternoon 
to  our  boys  on  this  side,  for  the  purpose  of  trading  tobacco  for  coffee.  Al 
though  there  are  express  orders  against  the  pickets  being  friendly,  they  will 
make  themselves  neighborly.  They  made  their  barter  while  in  view  of  their 
men,  but  it  was  the  last  they  saw  of  them,  and  probably  will  be  for  some  time, 
as  they  were  seen  this  evening  at  the  depot,  with  passes  in  their  hands  for 
Washington.  Our  pontoon  wagons  have  commenced  moving  away  ;  it  was 
said  up  the  river. 

Sunday,  January  4th. — Great  preparations  were  made  for  a  grand  review 
that  was  ordered  to  take  place  this  afternoon  under  the  auspices  of  General 
Burnside.  The  boys  were  kept  busy  in  cleaning  up  harness  and  themselves  for 
the  inspection  that  would  take  place  at  12.30  P.  M  ,  before  the  review  at  2 
P.  M.  After  everything  was  in  good  trim,  orders  came  in  that  it  was  post 
poned  ;  and  to  let  us  know  that  our  work  was  not  all  in  vain,  the  captain  had 
inspection.  The  usual  rule,  last  winter,  was  to  have  a  knapsack  inspection  on 
every  Sunday  except  the  last  one  in  the  month,  when  all  hands  turned  out  on 
a  mounted  inspection.  The  day  was  remarkably  fine  for  such  an  operation, 
until  about  meridian,  when  the  sky  became  overcast  with  black  clouds  and  a 
stiff  breeze  sprang  up.  Everything  requiring  preparation  is  ordered  to  come  ofl 
on  Sunday,  generally,  and  the  orders  are  issvied  late  on  Saturday  night.  A 


ii2  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

great  smoke  comes  up  from  the  rebel  lines,  as  though  they  were  breaking 
camp,  or  had  a  tremendous  quantity  of  filth  to  dispose  of.  We  were  visited 
this  afternoon  by  two  men  connected  with  the  Christian  Association.  They 
distributed  papers  and  testaments  among  the  men.  They  have  been  very  busily- 
engaged  in  taking  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  furnishing  them  with  such  deli 
cacies  as  they  relish.  They  inquired  about  the  health  of  our  men.  We  had 
none  who  needed  their  assistance,  having  only  two  men  off  duty  sick,  and  they 
only  with  camp  diarrhoea." 

On  the  morning  of  the  6th,  orders  were  received  to  be  in  read- 
ness  for  a  review  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  cannoneers  set  to  work 
and  washed  the  pieces  and  caissons,  and  the  drivers  washed  and 
blackened  the  harness.  The  Right  Grand  Division  of  the  army, 
composed  of  the  Second  and  Ninth  Army  Corps,  commanded  by 
General  Sumner,  was  revieved  by  General  Burnside,  and  on  the 
i3th  the  battery  was  inspected  by  Lieutenant  Benjamin,  Chief  of 
Artillery  of  the  Ninth  Corps. 

The  men  now  received  boxes  from  home  by  express  and  pack 
ages  by  mail.  The  daily  mail  was  freighted  with  packages  contain 
ing  boots,  shirts  and  all  kinds  of  clothing  needed  by  the  men. 
Some  of  these  parcels  were  nearly  covered  with  postage  stamps. 

Marching  orders  were  received  on  the  i6th,  and  the  heavy 
guns  were  removed  from  position  on  the  river  front.  During  the 
Sunday  morning  inspection  on  the  i8th,  John  Knapp  was  thrown 
from  his  horse  and  pretty  badly  hurt.  On  the  20th  troops  began 
to  leave  their  quarters  and  march  up  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock,  but  the  command  to  march  had  not  yet  reached  the  bat 
tery.  The  weather  had  been  cold  and  the  ground  was  frozen.  Upon 
this  came,  on  the  night  of  the  2oth,  a  heavy  fall  of  rain,  drawing 
out  the  frost  and  making  the  earth  soft.  The  marching  columns 
cut  the  roads  into  a  slushy  consistance,  and  made  them  almost 
impassable.  At  reveille  roll-call  on  the  2is^,  Captain  Durell  an 
nounced  that  at  about  midnight  orders  came  to  move  at  4  o'clock, 
but  they  were  afterward  countermanded,  and  that  the  battery 
would  not  move  until  the  rain  ceased.  The  artillery  that  had 
started  on  the  march  was  badly  stuck  in  the  mud,  in  some  instances 
requiring  sixteen  horses  to  pull  one  piece.  Romer's  Battery  passed 
by  the  camp  with  eight  and  ten  horses  attached  to  each  piece,  and 
not  a  very  bad  road  to  march  on  at  that  time.  The  rain  continued 
to  the  23d,  and  the  army  could  do  nothing  but  flounder  through 
the  mud  back  to  the  winter  quarters  as  best  it  could.  Thus  ended 
Burnside' s  "Mud  March." 


U  Ml  VE 


BURNSIDE'S  FREDERICKSBURC;.  113 

Those  were  gloomy  days  for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and 
there  was  much  dissatisfaction  among  the  rank  and  file  over  the 
conduct  of  the  war.  Desertions  became  so  numerous  that  the  cav 
alry  was  employed  to  hunt  up  and  arrest  men  found  without  per 
mission  between  the  camps  and  the  Potomac  River.  But  the  great 
body  of  the  army,  though  depressed  over  the  failure  of  recent 
movements,  was  composed  of  true  and  honorable  material,  who 
spurned  the  thought  of  desertion. 

At  his  own  request,  General  Burnside  was  now  relieved  of  the 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  General  Hooker  placed 
in  command.  General  Sumner  was  also  relieved  of  the  command 
of  the  Right  Grand  Division.  Burnside's  farewell  address  was 
read  to  the  battery  at  the  evening  roll-call  on  the  29th. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  a  rumor  was  current  in  camp  that 
the  battery  was  to  be  removed  to  Fortress  Monroe.  It  had  a 
chilling  and  depressing  effect  upon  the  spirits  of  the  artillerists. 
They  had  congratulated  themselves  on  being  comfortably  fixed 
for  the  winter.  Ovens  were  in  course  of  building  at  the  division 
headquarters,  and  the  men  were  enjoying  visions  of  soft  bread, 
roast  beef,  etc.  Now  the  comfortable  quarters  upon  which  they 
had  worked  so  hard  and  enthusiastically,  and  the  promised  im 
provement  in  the  bill-of-fare,  must  all  be  given  up,  and  they  be 
marched  off  in  mid-winter  with  no  shelter  but  tents,  and  no  im 
provement  in  the  rations. 


ii4  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

FROM  FREDERICKSBURG  TO  FORTRESS  MONROE. 

THE  reveille  was  sounded  at  5  o'clock  the  next  morning. 
Rain  poured  down  in  torrents.  The  men  soon  had  every 
thing  packed  awaiting  ordeis  to  move.  The  tents  were 
not  taken  from  the  log  huts  at  once,  as  a  little  shelter  was  needed 
from  the  driving  storm  while  the  men  were  waiting.  The  battery 
moved  at  8  o'clock,  marching  out  the  Belle  Plains  road.  The 
horses  were  fresh,  and  set  off  on  a  good  strong  walk.  The  storm 
continued  with  unabated  force.  Snow  had  fallen  the  day  before 
to  the  depth  of  four  inches,  which  had  now  melted,  and  the  road, 
which  had  been  cut  up  by  the  army  wagons,  was  in  a  wretched 
condition  for  the  transportation  of  artillery.  The  infantry  of  the 
division  was  seen  early  in  the  morning  marching  down  the  hill  to 
the  depot,  where  they  boarded  the  cars  ;  but  the  facilities  for  the 
transportation  of  artillery  also,  were  not  sufficient.  Andrew's 
journal  gives  the  following  account  of  the  march  and  the  voyage  of 
the  battery  to  Hampton  : 

"  Our  route  for  about  a  mile  was  rather  good,  the  mire  not  being  so  deep  ; 
but  as  soon  as  we  struck  the  main  road  we  got  into  trouble.  The  mire  was 
already  deep  and  tough  and  heavy — more  like  mortar  than  mud.  The  whole 
country  was  now  perfectly  desolated  ;  not  a  fence  remained,  and  scarcely  a  tree 
was  to  be  seen  anywhere.  About  all  that  met  the  eye  were  the  unsightly  remains 
of  some  abandoned  camp.  We  were  unable  to  keep  the  main  road,  but  fol 
lowed  tracks  through  the  desolate  fields  and  around  the  butchered  stumps  that 
showed  where  the  wood  had  once  been.  Horses  and  men  were  continually 
becoming  mired,  and  the  route  was  strewed  with  broken  buckets,  old  kettles 
and  tin  cups,  and  occasionally  a  pair  of  unfortunate  new  shoes  would  be  seen 
sticking  in  the  mud.  Dead  horses  were  no  unusual  sight. 

"We  had  proceeded  about  four  miles  when  our  first  halt  occurred,  caused 
by  some  of  the  harness  breaking  ;  this  was  soon  rectified,  and  on  we  waded,  for 
it  could  not  be  called  marching.  As  we  neared  the  river,  the  mire  became 
more  troublesome.  A  portion  of  the  road  was  corduroyed,  but  the  mud  was 
plastered  over  it  so  thick  that  one  would  hardly  know  on  what  he  was  riding. 
Soon  after  we  entered  the  boundaries  of  the  Centre  Grand  Division,  our  troubles 
commenced.  We  had  but  one  track  to  follow,  and  that  was  used  by  all  the 
teams  of  this  portion  of  the  army,  and  also  by  the  forage  trains  of  the  Left 
Grand  Division.  In  hundreds  of  places  our  horses  would  nearly  be  swamped 
in  the  holes  in  the  log  road,  or  buried  up  in  the  deep  mire  of  the  dirt  road.  If 


FROM  FREDERICKSBURG  TO  FORTRESS  MONROE.          115 

there  is  any  virtue  in  yelling,  we  had  excellent  opportunity  to  discover  it  that 
day.  About  two  miles  back  of  where  we  halted  for  the  night,  one  of  our  cais 
sons  became  mired,  the  carriage  sinking  to  the  ammunition  boxes.  This  was 
the  first  real  '  stall '  we  had.  Our  movements  were  made  slower,  and  we  were 
more  liable  to  be  stuck  here  than  at  any  other  point  along  the  rout?,  as  immense 
wagon  trains  were  moving  to  and  fro  over  our  only  road,  and  the  battery  pre 
ceding  us  was  either  getting  stuck,  or  halting  on  the  worst  part  of  the  road.  \Ve 
passed  numbers  of  wagons  fast  in  the  mud.  Our  cannoneers  were  never  so 
hard  worked  as  to-day.  They  were  about  worn  out  by  the  terrible  hard  march 
ing  on  the  roads,  and  in  addition  they  were  compelled  to  put  their  shoulders  to 
the  wheels  many  a  time. 

"Just  in  rear  of  our  camp  for  the  night  lay  the  worst  part  of  the  road  we 
encountered.  We  were  compelled  to  go  up  a  very  steep  hill,  on  which  the 
mire  in  many  places  was  nearly  axle-deep.  The  batteries  ahead  of  us  were  in 
trouble,  and  we  were  compelled  to  halt  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  wait  till  they 
got  out  of  trouble.  In  the  meanwhile  we  managed  to  get  in  a  fix  ourselves, 
on  the  level  corduroy  road  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  One  of  the  wheel  horses  of 
a  caisson  got  into  a  hole  at  the  side  of  the  track  and  was  nearly  buried  up. 
He  was  unable  to  find  any  foot-hold,  and  in  unharnessing  him  we  discovered 
that  he  was  standing  on  rather  precarious  ground — on  an  old  horse  that  had 
fallen  down  in  the  road  and  was  now  covered  up  by  the  mud.  We  had  some 
amusement  in  getting  the  carriage  out ;  the  detachment  made  a  temporary 
bridge  to  work  the  carriage,  and  a  tumble  or  two  off  the  back  of  the  old  dead 
horse  into  the  mud  waist-deep  added  much  to  the  zest  of  the  affair.  We  were 
compelled  to  unlimber  and  shift  the  rear  boxes  around  by  hand.  There  were 
three  routes  up  the  hill.  We  moved  the  two  first  detachments  through  the  cut 
in  the  hill,  and  they  got  up  without  any  trouble  ;  but  when  the  third  came  along 
the  horses  became  balky,  not  being  desirous  of  dragging  the  carriages  over  the 
dead  body  of  one  of  their  comrades,  which  just  filled  up  the  cut.  By  putting 
ten  horses  to  the  carriage,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  men,  the  concern  was  got  out. 

"  We  went  into  camp  about  a  mile  above  the  river  in  a  little  clump  of 
stunted,  half-burnt  pines,  near  to  our  old  comrades,  the  New  Hampshire  boys. 
There  are  two  routes  from  the  summit  of  the  hill  to  the  landing — one  cordu 
royed  and  used  by  the  up  teams.  The  batteries  in  advance  took  the  dirt  road, 
and  a  terrible  time  they  had  of  it.  I  saw  one  caisson  stuck  fast  in  the  mire  and 
thirty-six  horses  failed  to  stir  it.  All  through  the  night  we  could  hear  the  snap 
ping  of  whips  and  the  yells  and  curses  of  the  men,  who  were  bringing  up  the 
carriages  they  were  compelled  to  abandon  on  the  route  in  order  to  use  their 
horses  for  the  other  teams.  We  were  all  unharnessed  and  making  preparations 
to  pass  an  uncomfortable  night  by  4  I*  M.,  having  made  the  worst  march  we 
ever  endured.  The  night  was  severe  and  wood  very  scarce. 

February  7th, — "  Woke  up  towards  morning  nearly  frozen,  and  investi 
gating  the  matter,  found  that  we  had  slid  nearly  through  the  bed  clothes,  our 
tent  being  pitched  on  slanting  ground.  The  sun  rose  bright  and  clear  and  gave 
every  indication  of  a  beautiful  day.  We  passed  away  the  morning  very  pleas 
antly,  dividing  our  time  between  drying  our  blankets  and  conversing  with  our 
old  chums,  the  New  Hampshire  boys.  About  II  A.  M.  orders  came  for  us  to 
move  down  to  the  river  bank,  so  as  to  be  near  at  hand  when  transportation 
should  present  itself.  We  struck  the  corduroy  road  just  below  our  camping 


n6  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

place  and  were  certain  that  we  would  get  along  swimmingly.  But,  as  in  almost 
everything  else,  we  were  here  deceived.  The  road  wound  through  a  deep 
ravine  between  the  camps,  and  carried  us  up  a  very  steep  ascent,  and  descended 
again  rapidly  towards  the  river.  The  great  number  of  teams  continually  pass 
ing  over  it  had  displaced  some  of  the  logs,  making  the  mire  very  deep,  and,  with 
the  action  of  the  frost,  rendered  the  road  almost  next  to  impassable.  We  got 
along  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  however,  by  doubling  our  teams,  putting  ten 
horses  to  each  carriage.  We  came  into  park  about  2  P.  M.  on  the  banks  of 
Potomac  Run,  near  the  river.  The  rest  of  the  batteries  had  taken  the  upper 
route,  which  brought  them  to  the  middle  landing,  a  short  distance  above  us. 
The  captain  chose  this  place  from  the  fact  of  wood  being  more  plentiful.  We 
were  considerably  put  to  in  fixing  for  resting  places.  If  we  pitched  our  tents 
out  where  the  pieces  were,  we  must  lie  in  mud  over  shoe-top  deep.  All  we 
could  do  was  to  hunt  out  a  smooth  place  on  the  side  of  the  steep  hill.  Our 
camp  was  the  most  irregular  we  had  ever  laid  out,  bearing  no  resemblance  at 
all  to  a  camp.  It  was  by  no  means  a  lonesome  place,  as  we  spent  our  time  in 
watching  the  steamers  continually  passing  up  and  down  the  creek,  and  we  could 
also  see  all  the  vessels  passing  to  and  fro  on  the  river.  Just  opposite  to  us  were 
the  Aquia  Creek  hospitals  situated  on  Windmill  Point.  The  ground  was  liter 
ally  white  with  the  huge  hospital  tents.  We  managed  to  pitch  our  tents  on  a 
rather  soft  spot  and  to  keep  our  blankets  out  of  the  mire,  we  strewed  the  ground 
with  white  pine  brush,  etc. 

February  8th. — "  By  orders  from  Benjamin,  we  had  reveille  at  5  A.  M.,  so 
as  to  be  ready  to  go  aboard  the  transport  at  any  moment.  This  was  one  of  the 
most  unprofitable  days  that  we  spent  in  the  army.  We  were  afraid  to  under 
take  anything  lest  it  would  have  to  be  dropped  in  order  to  move  immediately  to 
the  landing.  The  chief  occupation  of  the  boys  was  shooting  muskrats  of  which 
there  were  great  numbers.  During  the  day  a  large  number  of  canal  boats  were 
coming  into  the  wharves  ;  towards  noon  some  of  them  were  on  their  return 
from  the  landing  loaded  with  soldiers  The  Pennsylvania  Reserves  were  being 
shipped  to  the  fortifications  around  Washington.  The  channel  of  the  creek  is 
not  very  wide,  and  at  low  tide,  unless  the  pilots  are  very  careful,  the  boats  will 
get  fast  aground.  A  great  many  amusing  incidents  occurred  during  the  day, 
by  the  canal  boats,  with  the  troops  aboard,  getting  aground 

February  ?/•//.—"  Expected  that  we  would  most  certainly  get  off  to-day  and 
had  reveille  at  6  A.  M.  The  sun  rose  beautifully  and  it  turned  out  a  splendid 
day.  The  same  miserable  sort  of  an  existence  was  undergone  to  day  as  was 
endured  yesterday — regular  loafing.  We  tried  to  amuse  ourselves  but  the  means 
of  amusement  were  poor.  The  most  profitable  source  of  pleasure  was  eating. 
The  sailors  appeared  to  be  having  a  general  jollification  as  the  river  was  white 
nearly  all  the  day  with  sails  passing  up  toward  Washington.  Romer  and  Ben 
jamin  loaded  up  their  men  and  started  off.  Battery  A,  5th  Regulars,  had  gone 
on  the  day  before,  their  horses  still  being  back.  Just  after  sundown  Benja 
min's  '  monkey  '  came  in,  full  sail,  with  orders  for  reveille  at  2  A.  M.,  and  had 
hardly  got  out  of  the  way  when  he  was  back  again  for  '  boots  and  saddles  ' 
immediately.  The  men  were  tired  of  loafing  around  and  made  the  woods 
fairly  howl  with  their  shouts  of  joy.  Fortunately  we  did  not  strike  our  tents, 
as  the  '  monkey  '  soon  came  back  with  orders  for  us  to  move  to  the  landing  at 
3  A.  M.,  provided  the  morning  was  clear. 


MAJOR-GENERAL  JOSEPH   HOOKER 


FROM  FREDERICKSBURG  TO  FORTRESS  MONROE.          117 

February  loth. — "  Reveille  at  1.30  A.  M.;  rather  early  to  get  up;  but  so 
it  was.  We  waited  impatiently  for  3  o'clock  to  arrive,  expecting  then  to  be 
relieved  of  our  unpleasant  suspense  ;  but  3  o'clock  brought  with  it  visible  dark 
ness.  We  did  not  dare  to  move  out  of  camp  in  the  dark,  as  there  was  a  very 
dangerous  slough  between  us  and  the  boats,  and  we  needed  light  to  pass 
through  it.  We  were  thus  compelled  to  wait  until  daylight,  and  were  cheated 
out  of  six  hours'  rest ;  for  when  we  arrived  at  the  landing  we  had  no  boats  to 
put  the  battery  on.  We  were  here  at  least  two  hours  before  we  commenced 
loading.  We  were  put  aboard  the  same  style  of  transports  the  other  batteries 
went  off  on — canal  boats.  We  loaded  the  battery  and  baggage  wagons  on  two 
boats  lashed  together  by  heavy  framework,  with  railway  tracks  on  it  for  the  pur 
pose  of  transporting  cars  from  Alexandria  to  Acquia.  We  were  engaged  until 
in  the  afternoon  in  getting  loaded,  merely  unlimbering  the  carriages  and  running 
them  on  between  the  tracks.  We  did  not  put  our  horses  aboard,  boats  being 
wanted.  Battery  A  of  the  5th  Regulars  loaded  a  number  of  theirs  on  a  canal 
boat.  The  poor  creatures  were  dealt  with  rather  unkindly  — the  men  fairly 
throwing  them  into  the  boats.  The  boats  that  the  battery  was  on  were  rather 
dirty  and  wet ;  so  the  captain  obtained  a  new  boat,  which  was  clean  and  dry, 
for  the  men  to  sleep  in.  We  left  the  landing  at  5  P.  M.,  and  were  immediately 
taken  in  tow  by  the  tug  Rover,  waiting  there  for  us.  There  were  three  tugs  of 
us  going  down  the  river — two  of  the  batteries  having  been  kept  there  in  waiting 
for  us  to  come  along.  The  river  was  very  rough,  and  our  boats  rocked  to  and 
fro  rather  too  much  for  comfort.  Soon  the  other  tugs  were  out  of  sight,  we 
having  an  old  affair  with  a  broken  propeller.  The  men  amused  themselves  until 
dark  with  shooting  at  the  ducks  that  were  sailing  around  us  in  large  numbers. 
We  were  awakened  about  midnight  by  a  great  racket  on  deck— the  boats  having 
anchored  for  the  night.  The  night  was  very  cold.  The  captain  of  the  sleeping 
boat  was  a  great  heathen,  continually  cursing  the  men  and  very  fearful  of  his 
boat.  As  fast  as  the  men  would  open  the  hatches  to  let  in  a  little  air  he  would 
close  them.  He  was  finally  persuaded  to  let  them  be  open  by  being  told  that 
not  only  would  they  throw  his  hatches  overboard,  but  also  send  him  along,  if  he 
interfered  any  more. 

February  nth. — "  Weighed  anchor  about  daylight  and  reached  St.  Mary's 
Harbor,  Md.,  about  noon.  The  air  was  very  raw  and  damp  ;  early  after  starting 
a  little  snow  fell,  but  it  soon  turned  to  rain.  We  were  compelled  to  turn  in  here 
on  account  of  the  heavy  headwinds,  making  the  river  rather  dangerous  for  boat 
ing.  We  found  the  harbor  well  filled  with  craft  of  every  kind,  a  big  black  gun 
boat  among  them.  We  had  scarcely  halted  before  the  darkies  came  flocking  in 
their  dug-outs,  with  oysters  to  sell,  this  being  a  great  oyster  locality.  As  there 
was  plenty  of  time  to  spend  in  opening  oysters,  the  negroes  soon  disposed  of  all 
they  brought,  taking  for  pay  the  '  fac  simile  '  Confederate  money.  We  had 
barely  halted  before  some  of  our  men  were  on  the  shore  and  scouting  around  ; 
and  they  soon  returned  with  a  couple  of  oyster  rakes.  Oyster  dredging  now 
became  the  order  of  the  day,  the  men  from  every  craft  being  at  it.  The  rain 
continued  on  all  day.  Soon  after  dark  we  heard  a  great  racket  from  the  Rhode 
Island  boats — a  man  being  overboard.  He  was  soon  hauled  on  board  again  ; 
no  doubt  he  went  in  to  take  a  wash ;  it  wouldn't  hurt  any  of  them. 

February  i2th. — "It  rained  all  day;  the  men  from  all  the  boats  went 
ashore  and  scoured  the  country  for  plunder.  The  harbor  is  a  desolate-looking 


n8  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

place,  there  being  only  three  houses,  with  the  usual  number  of  outbuildings, 
etc. — the  point  of  land  running  out  between  the  harbor  and  the  river  being 
ornamented  by  a  large  windmill.  The  night  was  very  cold. 

February  ijth. — The  wind  blew  a  perfect  hurricane  during  the  night.     In 
the  morning  we  found  that  we  had  been  driven  out  towards  the  river.     Weighed 
anchor  and  steamed  out  at  daylight.     A  number  of  men  from  the  other  batteries 
were  left  on  the  shore.     Some  were  accidentally  left,  but  others  deserted.     After 
having  proceeded  about  fifteen  miles  we  reached  Cornfield  Harbor,  at  Point 
Lookout,  where  the  river  empties  into  the  bay.      As  this  is  a  very  rough  and 
dangerous  locality,  we  were  compelled  to  anchor  here  and  await  the  falling  of 
the  wind.     The  river  was  full  of  small  craft  in  search  of  oysters.     On  the  point 
large  hospital  buildings  are  erected,  and  also  a  lighthouse.      Five  of  our  boys 
went  off  to  the  shore  in  search  of  oysters  and  were  left  behind.     The  wind 
falling,  we  steamed  off  again  at  3  P.  M  ,  and  were  soon  in  the  bay,  which  was 
as  smooth  as  a  mill  pond,  though  not  half  an  hour  before  we  started  we  saw  the 
white  caps  rolling  very  high.     Numbers  of  the  large  steamers  that  were  with  us 
in  St.  Mary's  soon  passed  us,  having  better  engines  than  ours.     By  sundown  we 
were  passing  the  light-ship  off  Smith's  Point.      We  could  see  the  land  on  the 
Virginia  side,  but  all  was  blue  water  in  the  opposite  direction.     Our  boys  who 
were  leit  got  aboard  a  large  tow  and  passed  us  just  about  dark.     Soon  after 
night  set  in  the  wind  arose,  and  the  bay  became  very  rough — rather  too  rough  to 
suit  us,  as  our  tug  could  not  save  us  if  anything  happened.     The  wind  increased, 
and  about  midnight  blew  very  hard  ;  but  fortunately  for  us,  it  was  on  our  sides 
and  stern  and  aided  the  tug.     We  traveled  on  all  night,  and  soon  after  daylight 
Fortress  Monroe  was  in  sight.     The  waves  barely  rocked  the  two  boats  lashed 
together,  but  the  single  one  at  our  stern,  with  the  men  on,  rocked  and  rolled 
fearfully.      We  reached  Hampton  Roads  at  9  A.  M.,  all  the  other  boats  having 
reached  there  before  5  A.  M.     We  merely  remained  at  the  Fortress  long  enough 
to  report,  when  we  were  taken  in  charge  by  another  tug  and   brought  up   to 
Hampton,  or  rather  to  what  was  once   Hampton.     The  rest  of  the  day  was 
spent  in  unloading  and  getting  ready  to  move.      Our  drivers  and  horses  are  still 
behind.      Our  infantry  are  all  at  Newport  News,  seven  miles  above  this  place." 

Hampton  had  been  a  town  of  some  importance  before  the 
war,  but  General  Magruder  applied  the  torch  when  he  found  that 
he  could  hold  it  no  longer  against  the  Union  forces  and  burned 
nearly  all  the  houses.  The  government  had  given  the  contrabands 
permission  to  settle  among  the  ruins,  and  wherever  a  chimney  was 
left  standing  could  be  found  a  shanty,  rudely  constructed,  and  in 
habited  by  these  wards  of  the  nation.  There  were,  however,  a 
couple  of  stores  or  shops  in  the  place  conducted  by  white  men. 

One  of  the  canal  boats  containing  the  horses  of  Lieutenant 
Benjamin's  Battery  had  sprung  a  leak,  and  the  creatures  were 
standing  in  water  up  to  their  bodies  when  taken  out.  The  men 
were  denouncing  the  paymaster.  He  had  been  within  fifty  yards 
of  the  camp  with  the  pay-rolls  of  the  battery  and  money,  but  did 
not  stop  to  disburse  the  "  needful."  Sutler's  stores  were  plentiful 


FROM  FREDERICKSBURG  TO  FORTRESS  MONROE.          119 

and  cheap.  Cheese,  that  cost  at  Falmouth  50  cents  a  pound,  could 
be  purchased  for  1 6  cents;  apples,  three  for  5  cents;  ham,  12 
cents  per  pound,  etc.  The  army  fare  was,  however,  good,  and  in 
cluded  soft  bread  from  the  Fortress  Monroe  bakery — the  first  soft 
bread  the  battery  had  had  in  six  months.  Soft  shell  clams  were 
also  abundant.  The  men  dug  them  out  of  the  mud  at  low  tide, 
and  feasted  on  them  with  evident  enjoyment,  as  they  were  a  wel 
come  change  in  the  fare. 

The  troops  slept  on  board  the  canal  boat  for  two  nights  after 
their  arrival  at  Hampton,  but  were  obliged  to  vacate  it  on  the 
morning  of  the  i6th,  when  the  boat  was  towed  away  from  the 
wharf.  The  tarpaulins  were  then  erected  among  the  ruins  of  the 
town.  That  evening  a  cold  rain  storm  came  up  which  continued 
several  days.  On  Sunday  a  number  of  the  men  visited  a  colored 
church,  and  heard  the  first  sermon  preached  by  a  white  man  in 
thirteen  months.  Many  of  the  men  sought  refuge  from  the  cold 
storm  in  the  huts  of  the  colored  people,  who  were  quite  hospitable 
and  very  willing  to  contribute  to  the  comfort  of  the  soldiers.  Each 
man  had  to  cook  his  own  coffee  as  the  company  cooks  could  not 
make  a  fire  out  of  doors.  In  this  emergency  the  colored  people 
kindly  placed  their  fires  at  the  disposal  of  the  men.  The  mess  to 
which  the  writer  was  attached,  captured  a  stove  and  put  it  up  in 
the  tent.  It  was  fired  up,  but  would  not  throw  out  sufficient  heat, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  visit  the  shops  and  huts  to  keep  warm, 
as  indeed  most  of  the  men  were  doing.  On  the  iyth,  two  of  the 
baggage  wagons,  a  sergeant  and  Bugler  Rich  arrived  from  Newport 
News.  They  had  been  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  battery 
owing  to  the  crowded  condition  of  the  boats,  and  taken  aboard  a 
boat  which  landed  above. 

The  weather  cleared  and  the  sun  shone  again  on  the  2oth, 
when  overcoats  and  blankets  were  hung  out  in  the  air  to  dry,  and 
clothes  washed.  But  another  storm  of  rain  and  snow,  accompa 
nied  with  high  winds,  came  up  on  the  22nd.  Each  man  was  again 
obliged  to  cook  his  own  rations.  The  boats  with  the  captain,  the 
drivers  and  the  horses  arrived  on  the  24th.  All  manner  of  rumors 
had  been  circulating  through  the  camp  relative  to  their  safety.  It 
had  been  reported  that  they  had  gone  to  the  bottom  along  with 
the  horses.  The  storm  had  been  very  severe,  and  many  vessels 
had  been  driven  ashore.  It  had  been  feared  that  the  worst  had 
happened.  But  all  apprehensions  were  dissipated  by  the  appear 
ance  in  camp  of  two  of  the  boys,  and  the  well-known  form  of  the 
captain  on  the  boats,  high  and  dry,  on  a  sand  bank  in  the  creek. 


120  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

They  had  safely  reached  the  Roads  on  the  2ist,  just  before 
the  storm  set  in  with  severity.  By  instruction  from  the  Fortress, 
they  had  gone  up  to  Newport  News  expecting  to  find  the  battery 
there.  On  their  return  to  Hampton,  the  tide  at  the  time  falling, 
their  steamer  ran  aground  on  a  sand  bank,  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
camp.  Both  landsmen  and  marines  (horse-marines  their  comrades 
dubbed  them),  rejoiced  at  the  fortunate  termination  of  the  voyage. 
They  were  compelled  to  lie  out  in  the  storm  until  the  rising  of  the 
tide  next  morning,  when  they  came  up  to  the  landing. 

Their  trip  from  Pratt' s  Land  ng  to  the  point  of  disembarkation 
had  taken  just  fourteen  days.  It  had  been  a  very  rough  one.  A 
portion  of  the  time  they  had  nothing  to  eat  except  oysters,  which 
were  purchased  from  the  negroes  in  St  Mary's  Harbor.  The  poor 
horses  looked  considerably  worse  of  the  experience.  They  had 
received  but  two  buckets  of  water  apiece  in  nine  days,  and  not 
enough  to  eat.  But  they  were  in  much  better  condition  than  was 
expected.  Three  of  them  died  on  the  voyage  and  two  shortly  after 
reaching  Hampton.  Those  that  survived  showed  their  delight  at 
once  more  reaching  terra  firma. 

Both  men  and  horses  requiring  rest,  the  battery  remained  at 
Hampton  until  the  26th.  It  was  reported  in  camp  that  new  A 
tents  were  to  be  issued  as  soon  as  the  battery  reached  Newport 
News;  that  the  Ninth  Corps  was  to  be  broken  up,  one  division 
to  be  stationed  at  Newport  News,  another  at  Suffolk,  etc.  ;  that 
furloughs  were  to  be  granted,  and  a  good  time  generally  enjoyed. 
Already  rations  of  fresh  bread  potatoes,  ham,  etc.,  were  being 
issued  to  the  men.  The  following  is  from  Andrew's  journal  under 
date  of  the  26th  : 

"  We  left  our  camping  ground  about  10  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  took  the  York- 
town  road.  We  passed  by  a  very  large  peach  orchard  of  young  trees,  supposed 
by  us  to  have  been  the  camping  ground  of  the  iO4th  last  sp  ing.  as  we  found  a 
box  marked  to  a  member  of  Company  I.  The  country  is  an  almost  level  plain, 
very  sandy  and  in  places,  swampy.  There  were  quite  a  number  of  fine  pine 
woods  along  the  route.  The  timber  is  much  different  from  that  of  Northern 
Virginia,  the  trees  growing  much  higher  and  having  but  few  limbs  In  appear 
ance  they  resemble  the  turpentine  pine  of  Carolina,  but  are  not  so  tall.  Houses 
were  scarce  and  built  after  the  usual  Southern  style.  The  people  appeared  to 
live  comfortably  and  their  properties  to  have  been  but  little  disturbed.  Around 
all  of  them  were  fine  lots  of  barn  pheasants  and  porkers,  but  they  weie  non- 
comatable  by  us  as  there  were  too  many  guards  around.  One  house  appeared 
to  be  very  prolific  of  '  femenines,'  as  I  counted  only  seven  grown-up  girls,  and 
terribly  ugly  they  were  at  that.  The  finest  feature  about  that  house  was  the  large 
bee-gums.  The  road  was  very  sandy  and  dry  except  where  we  passed  through 


FROM  FREDERICKSBURG  TO  FORTRESS  MONROE.          121 

the  pines.  Without  exception  the  woods  were  very  swampy  and  the  road  narrow 
and  full  of  chuck-holes.  On  both  sides  of  the  road  could  be  seen  the  marks  of 
old  encampments. 

"  As  we  neared  Newport  News  we  were  visited  by  a  little  shower  of  warm 
rain.  The  first  camp  we  approached  was  that  of  the  Rhode  Islanders.  They  are 
close  to  the  picket  lines,  at  least  a  mile  from  the  remainder  of  the  troops.  They 
asked,  as  an  especial  favor,  that  they  might  be  there  in  order  to  be  away  from 
the  infantry.  We  halted  here  for  over  an  hour  waiting  for  orders  where  to 
encamp.  These  coming,  we  started  to  go  into  park  on  a  knoll  just  below  the 
Rhode  Islanders.  A  portion  of  the  battery  got  in  safely,  but  the  rest  were  not 
so  successful.  The  ground  was  full  of  quick  sands  and  into  them  we  went. 
The  carriages  would  sink  up  to  the  axles  like  a  flash  and  appear  to  be  sinking  all 
the  time.  At  one  time  horses,  men  and  carriages  were  fast.  These  having  all 
been  dug  out  we  were  kept  at  a  stand-still  waiting  until  a  better  place  could 
be  found.  As  usual,  or  truly  without  fail,  it  always  takes  us  a  long  time  to  find 
a  camping  ground,  and  we  have  a  rain  to  fall  before  getting  on  it.  Rain  did 
come  on  us  for  a  short  time,  when  we  received  orders  to  take  our  position  with 
the  division  along  James  River. 

' '  The  corps  is  all  encamped  on  a  long  level  plain,  reaching  a  great  distance  up 
the  river.  They  are  arranged  according  to  the  numbers  of  the  divisions.  The 
The  First  Division  is  nearest  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  ;  ours  comes  next  and 
then  the  Third  Division.  The  ground  is  very  sandy  and  as  level  as  a  floor,  and 
is  a  beautiful  drill  ground.  Each  battery  is  encamped  along  with  its  division. 
The  First  Division  occupies  the  barracks  erected  last  spring  by  the  Fire  Zou 
aves  ;  the  remainder  of  the  troops  had  issued  to  them  the  little  wedge,  or  A- 
tents.  The  encampments  are  really  beautiful  to  us  who  have  seen  nothing  for 
so  long  a  time  but  the  little  dog-tents  of  men  in  active  service.  We  have  not  as 
yet  had  any  issued  to  us,  but  expect  to  have  them  before  long.  They  will  come 
very  acceptable,  as  our  old  tarpaulins  are  pretty  well  played  out,  and  have  an 
unpleasant  trick  of  leaking.  Our  camp  is  not  as  yet  completed,  as  we  are  await 
ing  our  new  tents  before  fixing  up.  We  are  only  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the 
river,  which,  at  this  point,  is  over  five  miles  in  width.  The  day  before  we  came 
down,  a  rebel  steamer  hove  in  sight  some  eight  or  ten  miles  up  the  river.  The 
boats  were  soon  after  her,  firing  a  few  shots,  when  she  left.  They  are  always 
ready  for  the  go,  keeping  steam  up.  We  have  all  had  plenty  to  do  to-day, 
policing  our  camp  and  making  ready  for  inspection  and  muster,  which  came  off 
at  I  o'clock  this  afternoon.  We  were  inspected  by  Lieutenant  Benjamin. 
Before  the  inspection  was  over,  rain  commenced  falling,  when  he  sent  us  to  our 
quarters,  to  be  ready  to  answer  to  our  names  when  he  had  inspected  the  other 
party  which  was  waiting  in  the  rain.  The  rain  commenced  pouring  down  about 
the  time  he  finished  murdering  our  names  and  has  continued  ever  since.  T 
have  just  returned  from  a  funeral — the  hostler  of  General  Wilcox.  The  general 
and  staff  were  all  theje. 

"  Having  been  away  from  the  division  so  long  we  are  now  completely 
overrun  with  orders.  Who  is  the  kind  person  that  has  been  reporting  over  the 
country  that  seventy  of  our  men  have  deserted  ?  As  a  matter  of  justice  to  the 
friends  at  home,  I  would  remark  that  we  are  the  only  battery  out  of  the  six 
which  came  down  that  has  not  had  a  deserter.  Lieutenant  Gries,  who  has  been 
absent  seven  months  on  recruiting  service,  returned  on  the  2"jih.  lie  looks 
well  and  was  heartily  welcomed  with  six  roaring  cheers." 


122  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  camp  at  Old  Point  Comfort  was  a  very  pleasant  one,  the 
battery  being  located  about  a  mile  from  the  boat  landing.  The 
place  was  a  summer  resort  before  the  war.  Some  of  the  men 
entertained  hopes  of  remaining  here  throughout  the  coming  season, 
and  were  anticipating  the  same  pleasure  of  swimming  in  the  James 
River  that  they  had  enjoyed  in  the  Rappahannock  the  previous 
summer.  Gunboats  were  plying  up  and  down  the  river,  keeping  a 
watch  for  the  Merrimac  No.  2.  A  monitor  was  stationed  in  the 
middle  of  the  channel  in  front  of  the  camp,  nothing  of  it  being 
visible  but  the  smokestack  and  turret,  or  "Yankee  Cheese-box." 

New  tents  were  now  provided,  but  instead  of  being  of  the  A 
pattern,  they  were  only  the  wretched  little  "dog  tents."  The 
paymaster  was  an  official  whom  all  were  eager  to  see  at  this  time, 
as  eight  months'  pay  was  due  to  the  battery.  Field  drill,  which 
had  been  dropped  since  active  service  began,  was  now  resumed, 
and  occupied  each  morning,  though  only  two  sections  at  a  time 
could  participate  on  account  of  a  shortage  of  horses.  An  hour  of 
each  afternoon  was  devoted  to  gun-drill. 

Captain  Durell  left  on  a  short  leave  of  absence  on  March  6th, 
and  furloughs  were  soon  afterward  granted  to  Sergeant  James  Q. 
Irwin  and  Bugler  Joseph  M.  Cuffel.  John  Rich  was  discharged 
from  the  service  about  this  time  in  consequence  of  ill  health.  The 
camp  was  visited  at  this  time  by  a  few  members  of  the  io4th  Regi 
ment,  which  was  stationed  at  Yorktown. 

All  prospect  of  remaining  for  any  length  of  time  at  Newport 
News  was  dispelled  on  the  iyth  of  March,  by  the  receipt  of  orders 
to  move  at  a  moment's  notice.  The  First  Division  of  the  Ninth 
Corps  broke  camp  on  the  i9th,  and  embarked  on  transports  for 
Baltimore.  The  books,  flour,  potatoes  and  onions  left  in  their 
old  camp  fell  to  the  battery,  which  fared  sumptuously  in  conse 
quence  for  several  days. 


THE  KENTUCKY  CAMPAIGN.  123 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  KENTUCKY  CAMPAIGN. 

GENERAL  Burnside  had  been  placed  in  command  of  the 
Middle  Military  Division  of  the  West,  which  embraced  the 
territory  of  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee.  He  had  established  his  headquarters  in  Cincin 
nati,  and  requested  that  his  old  corps  be  transferred  to  his  new 
command  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  the  guerilla  warfare 
waging  with  bitter  intensity  along  the  southern  border  of  Kentucky. 
He  also  contemplated  a  movement  over  the  Cumberland  Moun 
tains  for  the  relief  of  the  Union  men  of  East  Tennessee.  Two 
divisions  of  the  corps  were  ordered  to  report  to  him,  but  the 
Third  Division  was  left  at  Newport  News. 

"  Boots  and  Saddles  "  was  sounded  on  March  23rd,  when  the 
battery  packed  up  and  marched  back  to  Hampton.  Here  it  again 
encamped  among  the  ruins  to  await  transportation.  Early  on  the 
morning  of  the  26th  it  moved  down  to  Fortress  Monroe  and 
embarked  on  the  John  Brooks,  a  large  transport  steamer.  After 
everything  belonging  to  the  battery  was  loaded,  the  boat  steamed 
up  to  Newport  News  and  took  on  board  two  regiments  of  the 
brigade — the  5ist  Pennsylvania  and  the  35th  Massachusetts.  Late 
in  the  afternoon  the  boat  started  for  Baltimore,  where  it  arrived 
the  next  morning  at  10  o'clock.  The  infantry  immediately 
marched  to  the  cars  and  started  for  the  West.  The  battery,  being 
encumbered  with  horses  and  guns,  did  not  arrive  at  the  railroad 
depot  until  evening.  Here  the  men  spread  their  blankets  upon 
the  ground  for  a  night's  rest,  and  were  awakened  at  4  o'clock  the 
next  morning  by  rain  spattering  their  faces.  In  the  midst  of  a 
heavy  storm,  the  guns,  caissons  and  baggage  wagons  were  loaded 
on  open  cars,  and  the  horses  in  cattle  cars,  after  which  the  men 
were  marched  to  the  "  Union  Retreat"  and  supplied  with  break 
fast.  Returning  to  the  depot,  they  found  three  freight  cars  con 
taining  wooden  benches  that  had  been  hastily  constructed  for  their 
accommodation.  They  climbed  into  the  cars,  and  the  train  left 
Baltimore  at  10  A.  M. 


124  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  route  was  by  the  Northern  and  Central  Railroad  to  Har- 
risburg,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  to  Pittsburg,  and  thence  to  Cin 
cinnati.  Citizens  of  the  villages  and  towns  turned  out  to  greet  the 
passing  train  with  cheers  and  flags.  When  the  Pennsylvania  line 
was  crossed,  the  boys  gave  three  hearty  cheers  fjr  their  native 
State.  It  seemed  to  them  a  lovelier  country,  with  better  people, 
than  that  of  the  other  States  through  which  they  had  traveled.  At 
York  they  were  treated  to  a  cup  of  hot  coffee.  Harrisburg  was 
reached  about  7  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Here  several  of  the  men 
concluded  that  they  were  in  such  close  proximity  to  their  homes 
that  failure  to  visit  the  old  folks  would  be  regarded  as  gross  neg 
lect  of  filial  duty  and  took  "  French  leave."  They  all  turned  up 
in  camp  a  few  days  later,  in  Kentucky,  except  one,  who  was  after 
ward  reported  as  a  deserter. 

The  cars  were  so  much  crowded  that  when  the  men  lay  down 
upon  the  floor  they  were  wedged  together  and  lying  over  each 
other.  The  track  was  rough,  and  the  freight  cars  did  not  ride 
very  easy.  It  seemed,  at  times,  as  if  the  wheels  were  off  the  track 
and  running  over  the  ties.  Altogether,  the  conditions  were  not 
conducive  to  sleep.  A  stop  was  made  in  the  night  at  Mifflin  where 
coffee  was  provided.  The  weather  was  cold  and  the  ground  was 
covered  with  snow.  Altoonawas  reached  next  morning.  In  cross 
ing  the  Alleghany  Mountains  some  of  the  men  got  on  top  of  the 
cars  for  a  better  observation  of  the  scenery,  but  the  intense  cold 
soon  drove  them  back  to  shelter. 

The  train  reached  Pittsburg  on  Sunday  afternoon,  March  29th, 
where  the  battery  was  handsomely  entertained  by  the  people.  The 
men  were  marched  to  a  large  hall,  decorated  with  flags,  banners 
and  the  inscriptions  of  the  battles  of  the  Ninth  Army  Corps,  where 
they  were  fed  with  many  good  things.  While  the  men  were  feast 
ing  on  the  hospitality  of  the  kind  and  patriotic  citizens,  the  horses 
were  cared  for  and  transferred,  with  the  artillery,  to  cars  of  the 
Fort  Wayne  road  by  a  force  of  citizens.  Three  passenger  cars, 
with  cushioned  seats  were  also  provided  for  the  men.  The  citizens 
surrounded  the  soldiers  eager  to  hear  of  their  battles  and  campaigns, 
and  bestowed  every  mark  of  respect  and  kindness. 

The  train  left  Pittsburg  at  10  P.  M.  and  was  in  motion  nearly 
all  night.  A  long  stop  was  made  next  morning  at  Loudonville, 
Ohio,  to  fasten  the  artillery  which  was  loaded  on  open  cars,  for  it 
had  been  discovered  that  one  of  the  caissons  had  gone  overboard. 
After  leaving  Crestline,  one  of  the  men  fell  from  the  moving  train, 


THE  KENTUCKY  CAMPAIGN.  125 

and  was  supposed  to  have  been  killed,  but  he  afterward  turned  up 
with  a  bruised  head  and  back. 

Columbus  was  reached  about  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  where  the  horses 
were  given  water  and  the  ladies  treated  the  soldiers  to  eatables, 
among  other  things  a  barrel  of  cakes.  The  train  arrived  at  Cin 
cinnati  afcer  midnight.  Andrew's  journal  says  : 

"  Soon  after  sunrise  we  were  visited  by  a  committee  on  eating,  and 
informed  that  breakfast  would  be  prepared  for  us  at  the  market  house.  We 
were  unloaded,  harnessed  up,  and  ready  for  the  meal  by  9  A.  M.  By  the  delay 
occasioned  in  feeding  three  thousand  infantry  we  were  not  on  the  track  much 
before  noon.  If  cramming  was  ever  done  it  was  done  to-day,  for  a  splendid 
entertainment  was  prepared.  The  boiled  ham  and  bolognas  of  Cincinnati  will 
never  be  forgotten.  What  could  not  be  put  in  the  inner  man  we  were  ordered 
to  put  in  our  haversacks  and  meditate  over  it  at  future  times.  After  dinner  was 
over  we  halted  for  a  couple  of  hours  which  were  very  pleasantly  spent.  Nearly 
every  passer  by  had  some  question  to  ask  us,  and  the  guns  were  surrounded  by- 
wondering  and  inquiring  crowds.  We  were  fairly  burdeneddown  with  kindness. 

"  About  4  P.  M.  we  again  moved  off  and  crossed  the  Ohio  on  a  ferry  to 
Covington,  where  we  halted  near  the  Kentucky  Central  depot  and  awaited 
transportation  until  night  had  fallen  on  us.  We  found  many  loyal  citizens  in 
this  place,  who  were  anxious  to  do  us  favors  ;  but  as  we  could  not  leave  the 
battery,  we  were  unable  to  partake  of  their  kindnesses.  The  moon  being  bright 
we  commenced  loading,  and  had  all  ready  for  moving  off  by  midnight.  Our 
accommodations  were  pretty  good  ;  we  were  furnished  with  three  baggage  and 
one  passenger  car." 

The  morning  of  April  ist  dawned  on  the  battery  near 
Cynthiana.  The  country  was  beautiful.  The  fields  were  heavily 
sodded,  neatly  fenced  or  surrounded  with  substantial  stone  walls, 
and  the  peach  trees  were  in  blossom.  The  men  were  pleased  with 
the  change  from  the  desolation  of  Virginia  to  the  beautiful  luxu 
riance  of  Kentucky.  A  stop  was  made  at  Paris,  at  which  point  two 
regiments  that  had  preceded  the  battery  were  just  falling  in  line 
when  the  train  arrived.  The  horses  and  guns  were  unloaded,  and, 
after  stopping  to  make  some  coffee,  the  battery  marched  through 
the  main  street  and  went  into  camp  at  the  lower  end  of  the  town. 
The  reception  by  the  citizens  indicated  that  there  was  some  loyalty 
in  the  place.  The  ladies  made  their  appearance  in  smiles  and 
waved  the  old  hidden  flags.  Before  everything  was  completed  the 
camp  was  overrun  with  visitors  anxious  to  look  through  it,  many  of 
them  never  before  having  seen  a  battery. 

The  citizens  expressed  themselves  much  delighted  at  General 
Burnside  having  command  of  this  department  and  that  his  old 
troops  were  with  him.  The  guerillas  were  very  troublesome  along 
the  Cumberland  Mountain  border,  a  band  of  them  having  visited 


126  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

the  neighborhood  of  Paris  but  a  few  days  before.  There  being 
church  services  in  the  town,  many  of  the  men  availed  themselves 
of  the  opportunity  to  attend  them  in  the  evening. 

April  2nd  was  a  beautiful  day,  and  the  troops  improved  the 
time  in  strolling  around  the  town.  The  infantry  were  encamped 
in  the  fair  grounds,  while  the  battery  was  near  the  railroad  in  close 
proximity  to  a  fine  stream  of  water.  The  residence  of  Mr.  Davis, 
Senator  from  this  State,  was  near  by.  In  pursuance  of  orders,  a 
squad  of  men  went  out  on  a  horse  hunting  expedition,  and  returned 
with  fourteen — some  of  them  very  fine  animals.  The  last  regiment 
of  the  brigade  came  in  by  rail. 

Marching  orders  were  sprung  on  the  command  at  5  o'clock 
the  next  morning.  This  country  took  the  palm  in  the  way  of 
roads — all  of  them  being  turnpikes,  built  by  the  counties.  Few 
signs  of  loyalty  were  met  in  the  day's  march,  which  ended  near 
Mount  Sterling,  about  twenty-five  miles  distant  from  Paris.  The 
residence  of  a  Mr.  Oldham  was  passed,  who  was  said  to  be  the 
strongest  Union  man  in  that  section  of  the  country.  His  doors 
and  windows  were  barred  and  his  arms  kept  near  him  always,  in 
anticipation  of  an  attack.  His  son,  a  youth  of  seventeen,  was 
reported  to  be  an  object  of  especial  hatred  to  the  neighbors,  who 
were  said  to  keep  a  sharp  watch  on  his  movements.  He  had 
committed  the  offence  of  piloting  the  Union  cavalry  to  the  Con 
federate  camps  a  year  before.  Many  loyal  citizens  had  left  the 
country  and  were  as  yet  afraid  to  return. 

Teams  were  pressed  into  the  service  all  along  the  route  to 
to  carry  the  knapsacks  of  the  infantrymen,  who  were  very  much 
worn  down. 

Night  was  coming  on  when  the  battery  turned  into  park  in  a 
woods.  The  men  were  too  tired  to  put  up  shelter,  and  the  whole 
command  bivouacked.  Orders  were  issued  not  to  disturb  the 
fences,  as  they  were  the  property  of  a  Union  man.  The  tempta 
tion,  however,  was  too  strong  for  that  crowd  of  Virginia  rail- 
burners  ;  the  consequence  was  that  sundry  panels  were  smuggled 
into  the  different  camps.  Members  of  the  Kentucky  cavalry  were 
met  on  the  route.  They  wore  butternut  suits,  having,  as  a  dis 
tinguishing  mark,  one  garment  of  blue.  They  bore  a  marked 
resemblance  to  the  Confederates. 

The  command  moved  the  next  morning,  passing  through 
Mount  Sterling.  The  guerillas  had  paid  it  a  visit  a  couple  of  weeks 
before  and  burned  a  block  of  buildings.  They  were  desirous  of 


PRIVATE    HORACE    D.    BOONE 

A    DE8CENDENT    OF    THE    KENTUCKY    PIONEER 


THE  KENTUCKY  CAMPAIGN.  127 

holding  possession  of  the  town,  as  it  was  the  key  to  this  portion  of 
the  State.  The  few  loyal  citizens  remaining  manifested  their  loyalty 
by  giving  the  troops  a  hearty  welcome.  The  battery  went  into 
camp  about  two  miles  from  the  town,  on  the  property  of  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Tipton,  a  very  ardent  secessionist,  whose  son  was 
captain  of  the  band  which  fired  the  town.  The  fine  fence  rails 
upon  his  place  furnished  good  fuel  for  the  camp-fires.  The  fences 
were  built  twelve  and  fourteen  rails  high — "pig  tight,  horse  high 
and  bull  strong" — doubtless  a  wise  precaution  in  that  country 
where  the  jackass  had  to  be  taken  into  consideration.  The  raising 
of  horses  and  mules  appeared  to  be  a  specialty  with  the  farmers  of 
this  part  of  Kentucky.  The  braying  of  the  latter  became  a  familiar 
sound  to  the  battery  while  it  remained  in  that  section.  The  women 
generally  traveled  on  horseback  and  the  children  rode  to  school. 
No  carriages  were  to  be  seen  on  the  roads. 

The  country  round  about  had  been  eaten  out  by  the  enemy, 
and  provisions  and  forage  were  therefore  very  scarce.  A  raid  was 
made  on  Tipton' s  beeves,  and  seven  of  them  were  turned  over  to 
the  commissary.  The  watchfulness  of  many  guards  was  all  that 
saved  his  sheep-pen  and  hog-yard  from  the  knife  of  the  forager. 
The  camp  was  soon  overrun  by  negroes,  who  credulously  accepted 
many  a  marvellous  yarn  from  the  soldiers. 

Camp  life  became  monotonous  in  a  few  days.  The  change 
from  the  bustling  activity  and  excitement  of  the  towns  passed  on 
the  march  to  the  dull  routine  of  camp  life  was  very  great.  It  was 
a  poor  country  for  news,  too,  neither  letters  nor  newspapers  reach 
ing  the  camps.  There  were  occasional  rumors  of  the  appearance 
of  the  enemy  in  the  vicinity.  Two  citizens  came  in  on  the  i3th 
and  informed  the  general  of  the  location  of  the  Confederates. 
The  2ist  Massachusetts  and  5ist  New  York  Regiments  were  sent 
out  against  them,  leaving  camp  at  midnight.  The  citizens  piloted 
them  to  Sharpsburg,  where  the  guerillas  were  surprised,  and  174 
men  and  300  horsfs  were  captured.  The  battery  teams  went  out 
frequently  to  scour  the  country  for  forage. 

The  camp  was  enlivened  on  the  i4th  by  the  appearance  of 
the  paymaster,  with  eight  months'  pay,  nearly  ten  months  being 
due  at  the  time.  Captain  Durell  now  departed  for  Ohio  in  search 
of  the  lost  caisson  that  had  fallen  from  the  car  during  the  trip 
through  that  State,  and  Lieutenant  Gries  was  left  in  command  of 
the  battery. 


128  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

''Boots  and  Saddles"  was  sounded  at  midnight  on  the  i6th, 
but  it  was  2  o'clock  before  the  battery  moved  out  of  camp.  After 
marching  about  four  miles  a  halt  was  made  to  wait  for  the  infantry, 
which  did  not  come  up  until  after  daylight.  The  march  was  then 
resumed  and  continued  into  the  afternoon,  when  Winchester  was 
reached,  where  the  command  encamped  for  the  night.  The  battery 
move,d  forward  the  next  morning  without  the  infantry,  to  Boones- 
borough,  the  town  of  Daniel  Boone.  It  was  a  town  in  name,  only 
consisting  of  a  cluster  of  but  three  or  four  houses.  Here  the 
command  was  compelled  to  cross  the  Kentucky  River  by  a  ferry, 
which  consumed  several  hours.  It  encamped  near  the  river  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  the  spot  on  which  Boone' s  cabin  and  log  fort 
were  said  to  have  stood.  A  salt  lick  to  which  the  deer  resorted  in 
Boone' s  time,  is  near  by  ;  and  the  water  of  a  sulphur  spring  was 
sampled  by  the  men,  and  the  canteens  filled.  A  very  large,  old 
tree,  located  near  the  spring,  was  pointed  out  as  the  place  where 
Boone  met  the  treacherous  Indians  for  a  parley  before  the  great 
siege  of  Boonesborough,  which  he  successfully  sustained  with  fifty 
men  for  nine  days  against  a  band  of  four  hundred  chosen  warriors. 

The  march  was  resumed  next  day  to  Richmond,  which  was  a 
town  of  considerable  business.  The  battery  and  the  6th  New 
Hampshire,  of  the  First  Brigade,  encamped  in  the  fortifications 
built  by  General  Nelson,  from  which  he  was  driven  by  the  Con 
federates  about  the  time  of  the  second  Bull  Run  disaster.  A  very 
beautiful  cemetery  was  located  near  by,  the  sexton  of  which  proved 
to  be  an  old  Bucks  Countian.  The  monuments  were  numerous 
and  costly,  and  each  plot  was  separated  by  a  walk  of  fine  broken 
stone.  The  graves  of  those  who  fell  in  the  unfortunate  battle  at 
this  place  were  numerous  and  show  that  it  had  been  hotly  con 
tested.  The  Confederate  graves  outnumbered  the  Union,  and 
were  of  Tennessee  and  Texas  men.  The  monuments  and  stones 
bore  the  marks  of  the  conflict,  a  number  of  them  having  portions 
broken  off,  and  others  being  disfigured  by  the  blue  marks  of  flat 
tened  bullets.  The  fence  rails  were  riddled,  but  there  were  no 
visible  indications  that  artillery  had  been  used. 

Lieutenant  Christopher  Leoser  and  Sergeant  Henry  Sailor, 
with  five  privates  whose  term  of  enlistment  had  expired,  left  for 
Lexington  on  the  23rd.  The  officers  took  with  them  a  large  sum 
of  money,  which  the  recent  visit  of  the  paymaster  had  furnished, 
and  which  was  to  be  sent  to  the  homes  of  the  men  by  express 
Those  whose  term  of  service  had  expired  had  been  transferred  to 


THE  KENTUCKY  CAMPAIGN.  129 

the  battery  from  General  Wadsworth's  Excelsior  Brigade,  in  May, 
1862.  Lieutenant  Loeser  returned  to  camp  the  next  day  and  re 
ported  that  Captain  Durell  was  at  Lexington  with  the  lost  caisson. 
It  was  found  at  Cincinnati  in  bad  shape.  It  was  broken  in 
many  places,  the  boxes  were  in  a  bad  condition,  the  powder  bags 
were  broken  open,  and  a  number  of  the  projectiles  were  found  to 
be  worthless.  The  boys'  baggage  that  had  been  attached  to  it 
was  all  gone,  and  they  were  obliged  to  pay  for  the  new  clothes  they 
drew  in  place  of  the  lost  garments.  Sergeant  James  Q.  Irwin, 
with  his  drivers  and  teams,  was  sent  to  Lexington  to  bring  the 
caisson  into  camp.  Considerable  excitement  was  occasioned  in 
the  battery  over  furloughs.  The  applications  were  numerous,  the 
boys  crowding  around  the  captain's  tent  asking  for  them. 

On  the  morning  of  May  ist  orders  were  given  to  pack  up  and 
be  prepared  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice.  When  the  tents  had 
all  been  taken  down  the  orders  were  countermanded.  The  com 
mand  did  not  move  until  two  days  later.  Corporals  James  L.  Mast 
and  George  Douglass  were  reduced  to  the  ranks  at  this  time  for 
absence  without  leave.  Amos  Bechtel  and  George  R.  Carver  were 
promoted  to  their  places.  The  command  moved  on  Sunday,  May 
3rd,  to  Paint  Lick,  where  the  battery  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
Second  Brigade.  Rain  fell  throughout  the  day  until  the  tents  were 
pitched,  when  the  sun  shone.  The  army  rations  at  this  time  con 
sisted  principally  of  mouldy  hard-tack,  fat  pork  and  coffee  ;  but  the 
men  bought  many  articles  of  food  from  the  citizens  at  low  prices. 
Citizens  visited  this  camp  in  crowds,  both  out  of  curiosity  and  as 
peddlers  of  eatables.  Dr.  Cooper,  one  of  the  regimental  surgeons, 
treated  the  sick  of  the  battery  at  this  time.  The  colored  people 
came  into  the  camp  several  evenings  in  succession,  bringing  their 
fiddles,  and  entertained  the  boys  with  a  "  hoe  down. ' '  A  church  fair 
close  by  the  camp  was  also  an  attraction  which  relieved  the  monot 
ony  of  camp  life.  General  Sturgis  with  the  Second  Brigade  arrived 
on  the  8th,  attid  on  the  loth  the  whole  command  marched  to  Lan 
caster.  The  following  is  from  Andrew's  journal  : 

"  We  are  gradually  moving  toward  the  Tennessee  line,  commencing  our 
marches  on  a  Sunday,  and  then,  after  making  not  a  full  day's  march,  lying  by 
for  a  week,  waiting  for  a  fresh  start  on  the  next  Sunday.  In  this  country, 
where  the  people  profess  to  be  Christians  and  human  beings,  it  looks  to  me 
decidedly  wrong  for  us  to  be  moving  on  the  Sabbath,  and  blocking  up  the  road 
for  those  who  are  on  their  way  to  the  churches,  as  we  did  last  Sunday.  The 
orders  must  have  been  sprung  on  (General  Sturgis  very  suddenly,  as  we  had 
pnly  been  at  Paint  Lick  for  a  day,  and  had  come  from  this  place.  I  understand 


130  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

he  was  somewhat  cross  at  the  change  of  the  programme.  This  is  a  very  pretty 
country.  Water  is  more  plentiful  and  of  excellent  quality,  but  a  little  severe 
on  us  at  first,  being  limestone  water.  The  stone  makes  the  finest  kind  of  turn 
pike  roads.  Timber  is  more  frequently  found  and  in  greater  quantity.  As  in 
other  parts  of  the  State,  they  build  their  fences  ten  rails  high,  and  can  boast 
of  magnificent  stone  walls.  On  our  march  we  discovered  a  Mrs.  Spillman,  a 
native  of  Bucks  County,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Burroughs,  formerly  of  Bucking 
ham.  We  were  in  camp  and  fixed  up  by  3  P.  M.,  having  made  the  march  of 
twelve  miles  between  8.30  A.  M.,  and  2  P.  M.  — rather  good  traveling  We 
are  not  a  mile  from  the  town  of  Lancaster,  the  county  seat  of  Garrard  County. 
Our  camp  is  the  most  beautiful  we  have  ever  had,  being  a  splendid  succession 
of  knolls  covered  with  fine  grass— just  the  thing  for  our  horses.  The  property 
belongs  to  a  '  secesher  '  who  went  off  with  the  rebels.  His  house  was  accident 
ally  burned  a  week  or  so  ago,  and  his  property  was  to  have  been  sold  to-day  by 
the  sheriff,  to  satisfy  some  heavy  mortgages  against  it.  Our  nearest  railroad 
station  is  at  Nicholasville,  from  which  our  supplies  are  drawn.  The  town  is 
small  and  bears  the  marks  of  antiquity,  with  plenty  of  good- looking  young 
ladies  and  a  very  strong  Union  town.  A  very  good  thing  happened  there  yes 
terday.  A  small  lad  came  in  from  the  vicinity  with  whiskey  to  sell,  and  took  it 
to  the  provost  quarters,  asking  if  they  wanted  to  buy  any,  rightly  supposing  that 
shoulder  straps  were  generally  in  on  the  whiskey  question.  They  took  his 
whiskey,  poured  it  out,  and  as  pay  put  him  to  working  on  the  streets,  loading 
dirt  and  gravel.  He  was  kept  at  it  all  day,  and  when  night  came  could  hardly 
waddle  home." 

A  large  number  of  citizens  visited  the  camp.  Twenty-one 
horses  were  brought  from  Lexington  on  the  2ist,  by  a  detail  of 
men.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd,  the  battery  broke  camp, 
and  marched  to  Preachersville,  where  a  halt  was  made  to  give  the 
horses  water,  afier  which  it  marched  on  to  Dick  River.  Here  a 
halt  of  two  days  was  made,  during  which  the  boys  employed  the 
time  in  fishing  and  bathing  in  the  river.  The  brigade  was  sent  on 
this  march  to  reinforce  the  First  Division,  which  was  reported  as 
fighting  at  Somerset ;  but  the  division  was  fully  able  to  take  care  of 
itself.  Leaving  Dick  River,  a  march  of  two  miles  brought  the 
battery  to  Crab  Orchard,  which  had  been  a  summer  resort.  Here 
a  turn  was  made  and  a  backward  course  taken  by  a  different  road. 
The  march  was  continued  until  n  o'clock  in  the  night,  when  the 
battery  bivouacked  in  a  woods,  very  tired  and  dusty,  for  there  had 
been  no  r.jin  for  three  weeks.  When  they  awoke  next  morning 
the  men  found  their  position  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  town  of 
Stanford.  Tents  were  pitched  along  the  edge  of  the  woods  and  a 
beautiful  camp  made.  This  part  of  Kentucky  is  supplied  with 
good  water  flowing  from  numerous  and  strong  springs.  Near  the 
camp  was  the  "Cave  Spring,"  located  under  a  large  rock,  from 
which  flowed  a  stream  equal  to  that  of  a  six-inch  pipe. 


THE  KENTUCKY  CAMPAIGN.  131 

The  battery  was  again  with  the  Second  Brigade,  all  of  its 
regiments  having  come  together,  with  the  exception  of  the  5ist 
New  York,  which  left  this  place  on  the  26th.  New  clothing  was 
issued  on  that  day.  A  duel  took  place  after  "retreat"  on  the 
2Qth,  between  privates  Harrison  Rhoads  and  Stewart  McAleese,  of 
the  battery.  They  had  quarreled  several  days  previous  while  in 
line  for  their  rations,  and  engaged  in  a  tussel  for  precedence.  Bad 
feeling  resulted.  Hot  words  were  exchanged  for  several  days,  and 
a  challenge  to  fight  was  finally  offered  and  accepted.  Seconds  were 
chosen  and  the  parties  interested  went  to  a  secluded  place  in  the 
edge  of  a  woods,  where  the  antagonists  stripped  to  the  waists  and 
the  fight,  with  bare  fists,  began.  It  was  not  conducted  under  the 
Marquis  of  Queensbury'  s  rules.  It  was  not  divided  into  ' '  rounds, ' ' 
but  was  one  prolonged  "round."  It  had  not  progressed  very  far 
before  McAleese,  who  was  receiving  the  worst  punishment,  resorted 
to  kicks,  which,  being  very  unprofessional  conduct,  at  once  changed 
the  contest  into  a  terrible  rough-and-tumble  fight.  Finally 
McAleese  caught  a  couple  of  Rhoads'  fingers  in  his  mouth,  and  bit 
so  hard  that  Rhoads  was  compelled,  in  sheer  agony,  to  surrender. 
Nearly  the  whole  camp  turned  out  to  witness  the  contest.  The 
officers  feigned  ignorance  of  its  occurrence,  but  probably  knew 
what  was  going  on  and  winked  at  the  affair,  deciding  to  leave  the 
men  fight  out  their  differences.  There  was  not  much  crowing  by 
either  of  the  principals  or  their  friends  over  the  result. 

Lieutenant  Christopher  Leoser,  having  obtained  leave  of 
absence,  started  for  his  home  in  Reading  on  the  3ist.  On  the 
same  day,  privates  Hinnershotz,  Bower  and  Dunlap  were  taken 
under  guard  to  Stanford  and  held  for  court  martial,  for  violation  of 
orders  ;  but  the  command  was  soon  after  called  upon  to  reinforce 
Grant  at  Vicksburg,  and  the  men  were  released. 


'32 


DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 
FROM   KENTUCKY  TO  VICKSBURCI. 

THE  Ninth  Corps,  with  General  Parke  in  command,  was  now 
ordered  to  proceed  to  the  support  of  General  Grant,  who 
was  besieging  Vicksburg,  and  protect  his  rear  from  the 
Confederate  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  who  was  hovering  be 
tween  the  Big  Black  River  and  Jackson,  threatening  to  strike  and 
raise  the  siege.  The  battery  left  the  beautiful  camp  at  Stanford  on 
the  evening  of  June  3rd,  and  marched  to  a  point  two  miles  north  of 
Lancaster,  where  it  bivouacked  in  a  farmer's  lane.  It  was  called 
up  at  4  o'clock  the  next  morning  and  moved  on,  crossing  the  Ken 
tucky  River  at  Hickman's  Bridge,  where  a  halt  was  made  for 
dinner.  The  hills  bordering  both  sides  of  the  river  make  it  a 
beautiful  spot.  No  wonder  that  General  Burnside  choose  it  for  his 
headquarters.  The  march  was  resumed  after  dinner  to  Nicholas- 
ville,  where  the  pay-roll  was  signed  by  the  men.  It  was  expected 
that  the  battery  would  take  the  cars  at  this  point  ;  but  the  order 
was  changed.  It  had  now  entered  the  "  Blue  Grass"  region,  and 
marching  over  the  splendid  roads,  it  was  afforded  a  better  chance 
to  view  this  garden-spot  of  the  United  States  than  could  be  ob 
tained  from  the  cars. 

Reveille  was  sounded  at  1.30  A.  M.  on  the  5th  when  the 
march  was  continued  to  Lexington.  The  battery  arrived  at  10  A. 
M.  and  at  once  proceeded  to  the  depot  where  its  horses  and  guns 
were  loaded  on  the  cars.  This  work  was  completed  late  in  the 
afternoon.  The  train  proceeded  via  Frankford  to  Louisville, 
where  it  arrived  at  2  o'clock  the  following  morning.  The  work  of 
unloading  from  the  cars  was  begun  at  daylight,  and  when  it  was 
completed  the  battery  marched  through  the  city  to  a  boat-landing 
at  its  lower  extremity,  called  Portland.  After  waiting  a  couple  of 
hours,  it  was  ordered  to  embark  on  the  steamboat  Commercial. 
The  work  of  shipping  the  horses,  and  taking  apart  all  the  gun-car 
riages  and  caissons,  battery  wagon,  forge,  etc.,  and  stowing  the  parts 
in  the  hold  of  the  vessel,  as  well  as  loading  the  baggage  wagons 
and  their  contents,  was  a  matter  of  hard  work  which  took  until  mid- 


FROM  KENTUCKY  TO  VICKSBURG.  133 

night.  The  men,  greatly  fatigued  by  the  labor  and  from  loss  of 
sleep  for  two  nights  previous,  laid  down  on  the  deck  to  slumber  at 
the  first  opportunity. 

When  they  awoke  in  the  morning  they  found  that  the  boat 
was  steaming  down  the  Ohio.  The  Commercial  was  a  new  side- 
wheel  steamer.  It  was  considered  one  of  the  fast  boats  on  the 
river,  and  was  large  enough  to  comfortably  accommodate  a  battery 
of  artillery  and  a  regiment  of  infantry.  She  had  previously  trans 
ported  troops  ;  but,  having  been  idle  for  some  time,  was  repainted 
and  fitted  with  a  calliope,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  passenger?. 
She  had  freight  and  passengers  aboard  about  to  start  on  her  trip, 
when  an  order  came  from  General  Burnside  to  get  the  boat  ready 
for  the  transportation  of  DurelPs  Battery.  The  river  is  so  narrow 
that  objects  on  either  shore  are  distinctly  visible  from  the  deck  of 
a  boat  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  and  the  numerous  towns  and 
villages  which  dotted  both  banks  were  presented  to  view  like  the 
shifting  scenes  of  a  panorama  as  the  boat  glided  by  toward  the 
"Father  of  Waters."  A  stop  was  made  at  Canelton  for  coal, 
where  the  men  took  the  opportunity  to  run  into  town  to  purchase 
provisions.  At  this  point  the  gunboat  Monarch  was  passed,  stuck 
on  a  sand  bar. 

A  stop  was  also  made  at  Evansville,  Indiana,  the  next  morn 
ing,  and  during  the  day  at  several  other  points,  to  coal,  etc.  The 
boat  laid  over  all  night  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland  River  on 
account  of  sand  bars.  Here  the  Commercial  fastened  alongside  a 
boat  loaded  with  Confederate  prisoners,  one  of  whom  was  a  ven 
triloquist,  and  furnished  quite  an  amusing  entertainment.  The 
steamer  started  again  at  day  break  on  the  Qth,  and  touched  at 
Paducah  at  6  A.  M.  It  was  here  that  General  Grant  began  his 
operations  against  the  Confederates.  Cairo  was  reached  at  1 1 
A.  M.,  where  forage  for  the  horses  and  provisions  for  the  men  were 
taken  on.  Everything  was  in  readiness  for  a  fresh  start  in  the 
evening,  but  the  boat  was  ordered  to  wait  for  General  Parke,  who 
had  been  placed  in  command  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  so  the  departure 
was  not  made  until  the  next  morning.  This  gave  the  men  an 
opportunity  to  visit  the  city.  It  was  principally  composed  of  small 
frame  buildings,  located  on  low,  wet  ground,  and  presented  a  very 
unprepossessing  and  uninviting  appearance. 

It  was  nearly  noon  on  the  loth  when  the  boat  left  Cairo,  after 
which  it  was  soon  plowing  the  bosom  of  the  Mississippi,  passing 
the  battle  grounds  of  Belmont,  Ky. ;  New  Madrid,  Mo.,  and  other 


134  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

points  made  interesting  by  the  events  of  the  war.  At  Island  No. 
10,  which  General  Pope  had  besieged  and  captured  the  year  before, 
the  Commercial  was  halted  by  a  gunboat  to  report,  as  every  passing 
craft  was  compelled  to  do.  Island  No.  10  did  not  appear  to  be  a 
very  formidable  stronghold,  and  very  little  could  be  seen  of  the 
fortifications.  Next  came  Fort  Wright  and  other  fortifications — in 
fact,  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  are  thickly  dotted  with  points 
that  have  been  the  scene  of  active  operations  at  some  time  during 
the  rebellion. 

On  the  nth,  Fort  Randolph,  Fort  Pillow  (where  later  the 
colored  troops  were  massacred)  and  other  points  of  interest  were 
passed,  and  Memphis  was  reached  at  noon, where  a  stop  was  made. 
A  stroll  into  the  city  impressed  one  with  its  large  and  substantial 
buildings,  and  its  beauty  of  lawn  and  foliage.  It  had  evidently 
been  a  place  of  considerable  business  At  this  time,  however, 
there  seemed  to  be  little  trade  going  on,  and  that  pertaining  to  war 
only.  There  was  an  air  of  aristocratic  bearing  in  the  appearance 
of  many  of  the  private  houses.  The  inhabitants  were  all  strongly 
in  sympathy  with  the  secession  cause.  The  streets  were  filled  with 
Union  soldiers  and  marines.  Cotton,  which  had  been  its  chief 
article  of  commerce,  but  now  declared  contraband  of  war,  was  seen 
stacked  in  piles  at  every  turn.  The  city  was  under  the  ban  of  war, 
and  in  complete  subjection  to  military  authority. 

In  the  evening  Colonel  Hartranft's  5ist  Regiment  Pa.  Vols. , 
boarded  the  Commercial.      That   regiment   had   left  Nicholasville, 
Ky. ,  by  rail,  and  traveled  via  Cincinnati   to  Cairo,  where  it  took  a 
small   boat   for    Memphis.      The    battery  welcomed   the    regiment 
which  had  been  its  support  in   nearly  every  battle  in  which  it  had 
been  engaged    though  the  additional  number  circumscribed  the  ac 
commodations  on   the   boat.      Early  on   the   i2th  the  whole  fleet, 
carrying  the  troops  of  the  Ninth  Corps  left  Memphis  together.     In 
advance  proceeded  the  Imperial,  the  flag  boat,  next  came  the  Com 
mercial,   followed    by  a    dozen   or   more   other    boats.      The  pilot 
houses  on  the   boats  had   to  be   protected   in   some  way  from  the 
guerillas  who  infested   both   shores   of  the  river,  and  fired  on  the 
river  craft  when  they  could  do  so  with  safety  to  themselves.      Most 
of  the  pilots  were  protected  by  pieces  of  iron  boilers,  six  or  seven 
feet  in  height,  of  which  one  piece  formed  a  semi-circle.      A  piece 
was  put  on  either  side  of  the  wheel,  the  pilot  standing  in  the  con 
cave  of  the  half  boiler,  which  made  him  pretty  safe  against  bullets, 
but  not  from  cannon  shot.      Two  pieces   of  the  battery's  cannon 


FROM  KENTUCKY  TO  VICKSBURG.  135 

had  been  kept  on  deck  ready  for  use.  The  bow  of  the  boat 
was  cleared,  bales  of  hay  were  placed  on  it  for  protection,  and 
the  two  guns  posted  behind  the  improvised  fortification,  in  readi 
ness  to  answer  any  attack  that  might  come  from  the  shore.  Two 
gunboats  of  the  "  Mosquito  fleet  "  escorted  the  transports  past  the 
most  dangerous  points  ;  but  they  were  not  molested  in  any  way. 
All  the  towns  on  both  shores  from  Memphis  to  Vicksburg  hsd  been 
burned  or  destroyed,  for  they  had  offered  shelter  to  the  guerillas 
and  given  them  every  opportunity  to  fire  on  the  boats  with  im 
punity.  The  latter  bore  the  marks  of  many  well-directed  cannon 
shots.  The  pilot-houses  of  some  and  the  wheel  houses  of  others 
had  been  struck  and  in  some  instances  badly  shattered. 

A  stop  was  made  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  where  General  Pren 
tice's  command  was  lying.  The  Western  soldiers  flocked  to  the 
wharf  as  the  fleet  approached,  and,  upon  learning  that  it  bore 
troops  of  the  Ninth  Army  Corps,  began  to  guy  the  Eastern  men 
in  very  uncomplimentary  terms.  The  Eastern  men  replied  in  sim 
ilar  terms,  until  the  blood  on  both  sides  was  stirred,  when  the 
generals  engaged  in  the  battle  of  words.  General  Prentice  ordered 
the  boats  to  loose  and  move  off,  to  which  General  Ferrero,  from 
the  deck  of  the  Commercial,  replied  that  they  would  move  only  by 
orders  from  the  commander  of  the  fleet.  This  incident  showed 
that  the  feeling  between  the  Western  and  Eastern  troops  was  not 
very  fraternal.  The  Western  men  were  taught,  however,  before 
the  Ninth  Corps  returned  east,  to  treat  the  Eastern  troops  with 
more  respectful  consideration. 

Helena  was  a  sad  looking  town.  It  had  been  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  a  few  shanties  had  been  built  to  chimneys  which  remained 
standing.  The  first  colored  troops  were  seen  at  this  place.  They 
were  encamped  along  the  river  bank  below  Helena,  and  viewed  the 
passing  fleet  with  evident  interest.  They  greeted  the  Eastern  men 
in  a  more  courteous  manner  than  their  white  comrades  in  arms 
had  done.  The  fleet  stopped  during  the  night  at  the  mouth  of 
the  White  River.  All  the  land  along  the  Mississippi  appeared  to 
be  swamp  ;  nothing  but  woods  and  canebrake  were  visible,  save  a 
plantation  now  and  then.  The  paymaster  came  on  board  the 
Commercial  during  the  night  of  the  i2th  and  gave  the  battery  two 
months'  pay,  which  would  have  been  more  gladly  received  at  Nich- 
olasville,  where  he  was  expected. 

The  fleet  moved  slowly  down  the  river  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 3th,  escorted  by  several  gunboats,  which  kept  on  the  alert  for 


136  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

guerillas.  They  would  have  had  the  advantage  of  position  on  the 
high  banks,  and  the  boats,  crowded  with  men,  would  have  been 
easy  marks.  One  accurate  shot  might  kill  a  large  number  of  men. 
Fortunately,  none  of  the  enemy  appeared.  Late  in  the  evening 
the  fleet  anchored  at  Milliken's  Bend,  where  the  sound  of  the  can 
nonading  at  Vicksburg,  twenty  miles  down  the  river,  was  heard. 

On  the  morning  of  the  i4th  the  men  awoke  to  find  that  the 
fleet,  which  had  left  Milliken's  Bend  during  the  night,  was  within 
sight  of  Sherman's  Landing,  and,  on  rounding  a  bend  a  little  later, 
the  first  view  of  Vicksburg  was  obtained,  off  in  the  distance  on  a 
high  bluff,  with  the  Federal  guns  and  mortars  bombarding  the  city. 
The  transports  drew  up  to  Sherman's  Landing  and  the  troops 
immediately  began  to  disembark.  The  landing  was  located  on  the 
Louisiana  side,  near  the  canal  or  famous  "cutoff"  in  front  of 
Vicksburg  The  weather  was  very  hot  and  the  batterymen  had 
hard  work  to  get  all  of  the  guns,  ammunition  chests,  etc. ,  out  of 
the  hold  of  the  vessel  and  carry  them  ashore.  It  was  late  in  the 
afternoon  when  the  work  was  finished  and  a  farewell  was  bidden  to 
the  good  boat  Commercial.  Her  crew  were  unanimous  in  their 
praise  of  Durell's  command  as  having  been  the  best  behaved  sol 
diers  they  had  carried,  and  the  cook  treated  the  boys  to  a  cup  of 
good  soup  as  a  send-off. 

The  battery  marched  over  the  bottom  land  through  canebrake 
and  bad  roads  It  was  after  9  o'clock  when  camp  was  made. 
One  of  the  baggage  wagons  had  upset  into  a  mud-hole,  and  all  the 
cannoneers  were  commanded  to  go  back  to  the  scene  of  the  disaster 
and  extricate  the  concern.  It  was  nearly  midnight  when  they 
returned  to  the  battery,  and,  being  too  tired  to  pitch  tents,  they 
spread  the  tarpaulins  and  blankets  on  the  ground  and  lay  down  to 
sleep.  The  command  was  called  up  at  4  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
and  marched  about  two  miles  over  an  old  corduroy  road,  through 
a  woods,  to  Carthage.  Here  some  time  was  spent  in  waiting  to  be 
ferried  across  the  river  to  Warrenton.  While  waiting  some  of  the 
boys,  having  procured  lines,  fished  from  the  banks  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  several  large  buffalo  and  catfish  rewarded  their  piscato 
rial  efforts 

A  few  regiments  of  infantry  and  a  portion  of  Benjamin's  Bat 
tery  had  been  ferried  across  the  river,  when  the  orders  were  coun 
termanded  and  they  returned.  The  battery  then  went  into  park 
in  an  old  cotton  field  near  by.  When  the  tents  were  pitched  and 
every  preparation  to  enjoy  their  shelter  was  completed,  one  of  the 


FROM  KENTUCKY  TO  VICKSBURG.  137 

men  discovered  a  snake  near  his  tent.  It  was  quickly  killed  and 
found  to  be  a  cotton-mouth  moccasin — deadly  poisonous.  This 
discovery  caused  no  little  apprehension  in  the  camp  and  everybody 
was  on  the  lookout  for  snakes.  The  call  for  "boots  and  saddles  " 
came  as  a  welcome  relief  from  the  unpleasant  situation,  soon  after 
supper,  when  the  men  gladly  moved  out  of  "Camp  Cotton-field." 
The  quarters,  which  had  just  been  finished,  were  soon  taken  down 
and  the  battery  marched  back  over  the  corduroy  road  and  slept  on 
the  same  ground  that  it  had  occupied  the  night  before. 

Reveille  was  sounded  at  sunrise  on  the  i6th,  and  after  break 
fast  the  battery  marched  to  Sherman's  Landing,  where  it  embarked 
on  the  steamer  John  H.  Dickey.  It  took  several  hours  of  hard 
work  to  put  the  horses,  cannon,  caissons,  baggage  wagons,  etc., 
aboard.  The  artillery  carriages  were  not  taken  apart  and  stowed 
away  in  the  hold  of  the  boat  as  they  had  been  on  the  trip  down 
the  river.  The  two  5ist  regiments  of  the  brigade  were  also  loaded 
on  the  same  boat.  Steaming  a  short  distance  up  the  Mississippi, 
the  boat  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  River  up  which  stream  it 
passed  to  Snyder's  Bluff  The  Confederate  General  Albert  Sydney 
Johnston's  plantation  was  passed  on  the  trip  up  the  Yazoo.  A 
heavy  thunder  storm,  accompanied  by  hail,  came  up  and  com 
pletely  drenched  the  infantry  which  occupied  the  hurricane  deck  ; 
hail  stones  of  large  size  pelting  them  furiously.  The  troops  re 
mained  on  the  boat  all  night,  and,  being  closely  packed,  had  very 
poor  sleeping  accommodations.  Some  of  the  batterymen  got  fair 
places  by  crawling  under  the  artillery  carriages. 


138  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN. 

RAIN  was  still  falling  on  the  morning  of  the  iyth,  when  the 
troops  disembarked  and  labored  up  the  steep  and  slippery 
bluff.  Colonel  Hartranft  detailed  three  companies  of  his 
5ist  Regiment  to  assist  the  battery  in  pulling  the  artillery  up  the 
steep  and  muddy  slope  to  the  plane  above.  Horses  could  barely 
make  the  ascent  with  no  load  but  their  harness.  The  battery  was 
now  upon  ground  which  Grant  had  captured  from  the  enemy. 
Snyder's  Bluff,  and  Haine's  Bluff,  a  short  distance  above,  had 
been  strongly  fortified  by  the  Confederates  and  manned  with  heavy 
guns,  which  were  now  lying  dismantled  on  the  works.  Grant's 
movement  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy  had  compelled  him  to  abandon 
them  and  seek  refuge  in  the  inner  line  of  fortifications  around 
Vicksburg. 

When  everything  was  ashore  and  in  readiness,  the  march  was 
taken  up,  passing  through  the  camps  of  a  division  of  Western 
troops.  The  route  was  between  large  hills,  each  possessing  its 
rifle-pits  and  earthworks.  Good  camping  grounds  were  very  hard 
to  find.  The  battery  was  assigned  to  a  miserable  corn-field  on 
Wood's  plantation,  about  two  miles  from  the  landing.  At  this 
season  of  the  year,  and  just  after  a  heavy  rain,  it  was  not  a  very 
inviting  camp  ground.  The  tents  and  baggage  were  as  yet  behind 
and  the  weather  was  hot.  The  inconvenience  to  the  men  was  con 
siderably  heightened  by  fears  of  a  thunder  storm  coming  on. 
Every  style  of  vermin  was  found  here,  from  wood-ticks  and  fleas 
up  to  snakes.  One  good  thing  was  enjoyed,  however.  Very  good 
water  was  at  hand — that  is,  good  for  that  country.  It  was  some 
what  insipid — nothing  like  the  waters  of  Kentucky.  But  such  as 
it  was,  all  were  thankful  for  it,  after  subsisting  for  two  weeks  on 
river  water. 

The  Ninth  Corps  was  established  at  Mill  Dale,  about  twelve 
miles  in  rear  of  Vicksburg,  where  the  troops  were  set  to  work  in 
digging  rifle-pits  and  cutting  away  the  woods  for  the  protection  of 
Grant's  rear  against  a  Confederate  army  under  Johnston,  which 
was  now  assuming  a  threatening  attitude.  In  a  few  days  miles  of 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  139 

pits  and  field  works  were  constructed  and  whole  forests  slashed 
away.  The  corps  headquarters  were  established  in  Mr.  Wood's 
house,  and  those  of  the  brigade  in  a  nice  white  frame  Episcopal 
church,  known  as  Baker's  Chapel.  It  had  been  used  by  the 
enemy  as  a  hospital. 

The  following  is  taken  from  Andrew's  journal  : 

June  iSth.  — "  A  great  commotion  during  the  night  towards  Vicksburg — 
the  heavy  guns  being  at  work.  The  doctor  came  over  this  morning  and  had  a 
large  number  of  patients,  the  majority  of  the  cases  being  diarrhoea — some  of 
them  rather  troublesome.  The  troops  are  very  imprudent  in  the  use  of  water, 
this  warm  weather  keeping  us  continually  thirsty,  and  the  water  having  but  little 
tendency  to  quench  it.  Our  teams  arrived  to-day  and  we  have  put  up  our  tents, 
yet  we  suffer  terribly  from  the  heat.  I  cannot  imagine  how  the  men  in  the 
trenches  stand  this  hot  weather.  Every  hill  is  being  ornamented  with  works. 
( )ver  5000  men  are  detailed  every  day  to  work  on  them  ;  the  work  goes  on  day 
and  night.  Madame  Rumor  says  that  the  enemy  made  a  sortie  and  attempted 
to  break  through  our  lines. 

June  igf/i. — "  Had  our  first  mail  out  this  morning.  This  has  been  a  regu 
lar  sweltering  day — no  place  where  cool  air  could  be  found.  The  pioneers  of 
the  different  regiments  have  been  employed  to-day  in  opening  a  number  of 
graves  or  mounds  supposed  to  contain  arms  and  ordnance.  Some  were  found 
to  contain  dead  bodies,  others  had  camp  and  garrison  equipage,  and  even  am 
munition,  in  them.  Large  numbers  of  tents  have  been  found  concealed  in  the 
different  thickets.  We  are  now  luxuriating  on  berries  and  wild  plums  which 
grow  here  in  great  abundance.  These  latter  are  very  much  in  the  nature  of  the 
miser  plum,  that  made  a  stir  among  our  fruit-growers  a  few  years  ago.  Our 
cavalry  returned  to-day  from  an  expedition  forty  miles  out,  without  hearing  of  or 
seeing  an  enemy. 

June  2Oth.  -  "  Another  hot  day,  unpleasantly  so.  We  have  threats  of  a 
thunder  shower  everv  day,  but  none  come.  We  were  all  awakened  about  3 
A.  M.  by  a  dreadful  cannonading  in  the  direction  of  Yicksburg.  It  continued 
until  after  7  A.  M.  We  supposed  that  another  sortie  was  attempted.  The 
ground  fairly  shook.  The  firing  is  still  going  on  to-night.  Very  little  fighting 
is  done  during  the  day.  Our  company  name  has  again  been  changed.  We  are 
now  known  as  Battery  I),  Independent  Pennsylvania  Artillery." 

On  the  i  (;th  it  was  announced  hat  First  Lieutenant  Lemuel 
Gries  had  resigned  and  would  immediately  return  to  his  home  in 
Reading.  Poor  health  was  the  cause  of  his  resignation.  On  the 
2oth  the  left  section  of  the  battery,  under  command  of  Lieutenant 
George  W.  Silvis,  was  detailed  to  go  with  the  36th  Massachusetts, 
of  the  First  Division,  to  the  out-posts,  where  it  relieved  Western 
troops  and  took  position  on  a  cross  roads.  Water  was  two  miles 
distant.  A  supply  of  a  barrel  at  a  time  was  occasionally  sent  out 
to  the  detached  section  from  the  camp  of  the  battery.  In  a  few 
days  a  redoubt  was  built  in  which  the  two  guns  were  posted.  The 


140  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

camp  was  located  near  a  group  of  old  plantation  buildings,  a  por 
tion  of  the  barn  being  torn  down  to  make  room  for  the  fortification. 
Blackberries  and  wild  plums  were  in  abundance  ;  also  new  corn 
good  for  roasting  in  the  camp  fires. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  plantation  were  an  old  man  and  his 
family.  The  old  gentleman  had  been  "secesh,"  but  seeing  the 
fruits  of  rebellion,  was  now  inclined  to  be  Union.  He  had  a  wife 
and  two  daughters.  His  wife  was  in  very  ill  health  and  on  the  last 
night  of  the  section's  stay  in  that  position,  one  of  its  members  went 
twice  for  the  doctor.  The  oldest  daughter  was  married  and  said 
that  her  husband  and  two  brothers  were  in  Lee's  army.  Two  of 
them  were  conscripted  and  the  other  volunteered  for  fear  of  also 
being  taken.  The  citizens  were  very  polite  and  kind,  and  minis 
tered  to  the  Union  sick.  They  said  that  the  Eastern  troops  treated 
them  and  their  property  with  greater  consideration  than  the  Western 
troops  had  shown. 

The  out-post  was  soon  reinforced  by  a  brigade  of  infantry, 
which  was  set  to  work  building  intrenchments,  and  in  a  few  days  a 
strong  line  was  completed,  facing  the  direction  from  which  the 
enemy  was  expected  to  approach.  The  camp  of  the  artillerists  was 
located  in  a  barn  yard,  thickly  infested  with  fleas,  which  made  life 
miserable  for  the  men.  A  smudge  fire,  built  at  the  windward  end 
of  the  tent,  kept  away  the  mosquitoes,  which  were  also  very  plen 
tiful,  but  nothing  could  be  devised  to  ward  off  the  pesky  little  flea. 
They  were  most  troublesome  at  night,  when  one  wanted  to  sleep. 
The  camp  was  frequently  kept  in  a  state  of  excitement  the  greater 
part  of  the  night  by  their  relentless  onslaughts,  causing  the  men  to 
prance  about  in  the  gloom  like  so  many  ghosts.  It  was  a  country 
prolific  with  insects  of  all  descriptions.  It  abounded  in  plump 
mosquitoes,  sand-flies,  beetles,  bugs,  ants,  worms  of  all  kinds, 
ticks,  and  in  fact  almost  anything  in  the  insect  line  that  was  needed 
for  the  formation  of  a  cabinet  of  Nature's  tiniest  works.  It  was 
rugged,  consisting  of  ravines,  gorges,  hills,  cliffs  and  bluffs.  Much 
of  it  was  at  that  time  covered  with  canebrakes,  blackberry  briars 
and  underbrush,  that  afforded  harbor  to  venomous  reptiles,  such 
as  snakes,  green  and  gray  lizards,  stingarees,  etc. ,  which  abounded 
in  great  numbers.  There  was  not  a  man  of  the  command,  after 
an  inspection  of  the  country,  but  was  ready  to  affirm,  that  if  a 
landed  proprieter  were  to  offer  him  a  farm,  of  any  size,  gratis,  with 
a  promise  that  he  should  reside  thereon,  would  have  unhesitatingly 
declined  the  offer. 


T  VJT 

UNIVERSITY 


GENERAL  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  141 

Sanitary  orders  were  issued  to  all  the  troops  against  the 
scourge  of  yellow  fever,  with  which  they  were  threatened.  The 
orders  warned  them  against  unnecessary  exposure  to  the  scorching 
rays  of  the  sun,  or  to  the  damp  and  chilly  night  air  ;  to  use  no 
water  for  drinking  or  culinary  purposes  other  than  that  obtained 
from  wells  and  springs  in  which  barrels  or  boxes  were  sunk  for  the 
purpose  of  guarding  them  against  any  uncleanly  matter  finding  its 
way  into  the  water.  They  were  recommended  to  bathe  their  per 
sons  at  least  twice  a  week.  All  very  good  advice,  but  water  was 
too  scarce  to  comply  with  the  sanitary  rules. 

The  men  gathered  daily  large  quantities  of  blackberries,  which 
were  in  abundance,  and  wild  plums,  which  were  just  sweet  enough, 
when  fully  ripe,  to  be  pronounced  excellent.  On  the  29th  the 
infantry  moved  out  to  the  front.  The  main  portion  of  the  battery 
came  up  and  joined  the  left  section,  which  was  soon  ordered  forward 
with  the  First  Brigade  of  the  First  Division,  and  encamped  near 
White  Oak  Church,  about  five  miles  in  advance  of  the  left  section, 
which  remained  in  the  intrenchments.  The  next  day  the  battery 
was  mustered  for  two  months'  pay.  Preparations  for  active  service 
were  made  apparent  by  the  heavy  wagon  trains  coming  into  the 
camps,  loaded  with  forage  and  provisions,  and  orders  to  the  troops 
to  be  ready  to  move  on  short  notice,  with  five  days'  rations — three 
cooked  and  two  raw. 

Word  reached  camp  on  the  evening  of  July  3rd  that  General 
Grant's  army  was  to  assault  Vicksburg  in  the  morning.  The 
artillerists  were  in  the  performance  of  routine  duties  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  4th,  and  eating  blackberries  and  plums,  when  informa 
tion  arrived  that  Pemberton  had  surrendered  to  Grant  at  10 
o'clock,  with  23,000  prisoners,  200  guns — of  which  100  were 
siege  guns — and  a  large  number  of  small  arms.  There  was  great 
rejoicing  over  the  news  and  salutes  were  fired  in  celebration  of  the 
event.  At  3.30  P.  M.  the  left  section  moved  out  of  the  fortifica 
tion  in  search  of  the  battery,  and  joined  it  about  10  o'clock  that 
night  in  a  corn  field.  The  weather  was  excessively  hot  and  the 
roads  were  deep  with  dust.  The  men  were  very  much  fatigued 
and  were  glad  to  lie  down  on  the  rough  corn  field,  poor  as  the 
accommodations  were. 

The  next  morning  the  battery  moved  to  a  green  spot  on  the 
banks  of  a  creek  near  by,  but  marching  orders  were  received  early 
in  the  afternoon,  when  it  moved  to  within  two  miles  of  the  Big 
Black  River.  Cannonading  was  heard  to  the  front  during  the 


142  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

evening.  It  was  held  in  readiness  to  start  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  6th,  but  no  movement  was  made  until  noon,  when  the  men 
were  obliged  to  leave  their  coffee  in  the  haste  to  be  off.  The 
march  was  continued  to  the  banks  of  the  Big  Black,  where  another 
encampment  was  made  in  a  corn  field  to  await  the  completion  of  a 
bridge  on  which  to'  cross  that  stream,  which  was  receiving  the 
finishing  touches  of  the  engineer  corps.  A  small  body  of  John 
ston's  troops  had  contested  the  crossing  of  the  stream  in  the 
morning,  but  were  driven  away.  The  Union  loss  was  one  killed 
and  ten  wounded. 

Called  up  at  3  o'clock  the  next  morning,  the  battery  stood, 
with  horses  hitched,  until  6  P.  M.,  awaiting  orders  to  move.  The 
bridge  was  a  rough,  log  structure,  hastily  built,  and  had  a  very  inse 
cure  appearance.  The  stream  was  swollen  by  a  heavy  thunder 
shower  of  the  previous  night  and  its  current  was  deep  and  swift. 
Benjamin's,  Romer's  and  Edwards'  Batteries  had  crossed,  followed 
by  five  pieces  and  four  caissons  of  DurelPs  ;  but  when  the  fifth 
caisson  reached  the  middle  of  the  bridge,  the  structure  suddenly 
gave  way,  and  two  horses,  with  Joseph  Lear,  the  driver,  and  half 
a  dozen  knapsacks  strapped  to  the  ammunition  chests  and  spare 
wheel  went  down  with  the  caisson.  The  lead  and  swing  teams  had 
been  detached  to  lighten  the  weight,  the  pole  team  only  being  left 
to  pull  each  artillery  carriage  over  the  bridge.  Driver  Lear  was 
saved  by  grasping  hold  of  and  clinging  to  a  log,  until  he  was  res 
cued  by  a  canoe,  which  was  pushed  out  into  the  stream  to  his 
assistance.  The  horses  struggled  in  the  deep  water,  their  heads 
now  and  then  coming  to  the  surface  in  vain  efforts  to  extricate 
themselves  from  the  heavy  harness  which  held  them  fast.  Captain 
Durell  drew  his  revolver  upon  them  and  speedily  ended  the  suffer 
ing  of  the  poor  creatures.  It  was  impossible  to  recover  the  caisson, 
which  was  heavily  loaded  with  ammunition.  One  piece,  one  cais 
son,  the  battery  wagon,  the  forge  and  the  baggage  wagons  were 
still  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream  and  did  not  overtake  the  bat 
tery  until  some  days  afterward. 

The  battery  bivouacked  on  the  banks  of  the  river  from  which 
it  was  aroused  at  n  o'clock  by  "  Boots  and  Saddles,"  in  the  midst 
of  a  terriffic  thunder  storm  and  ordered  to  catch  up  with  the  other 
batteries  of  the  corps  which  had  proceeded  on  the  march.  The 
darkness  was  intensely  black,  so  that  nothing  but  the  continual 
flashes  of  lightning  made  it  possible  to  see  the  road.  Rain 
poured  in  pitiless  torrents  and  the  clay  soil  became  so  slippery  as 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  143 

to  make  marching  exceedingly  difficult.  The  road  wound  from 
the  river  up  a  steep  and  long  hill  and  the  storm  raged  with  renewed 
fury  while  the  command  was  ascending  it.  A  bolt  of  lightning 
struck  a  large  tree  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  marching  column, 
dazing  man  and  beast  to  temporary  blindness.  It  appeared  as 
though  sparks  of  fire  flew  forth  from  every  blanch  and  twig  of  the 
tree.  The  horses  were  paralyzed  with  fear  and  refused  to  move. 
The  names  on  one  of  the  pole  teams  broke  and  the  heavy  caisson 
ran  back  into  the  team  next  to  it  and  caused  something  of  a  crash 
and  considerable  confusion.  Fortunately  it  was  backed  off  against 
a  bank  on  the  roadside  and  after  some  work  and  much  profanity, 
the  harness  was  repaired  and  the  column  finally  reached  the  crest 
of  the  hill. 

At  i  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  command  overtook  the  other 
batteries,  the  men  of  which  were  sleeping  under  shelter.  Durell 
was  ordered  to  halt  in  the  road  until  3  o'clock,  when  the  other 
batteries  would  be  called  up  to  resume  the  march.  The  rainfall 
continued  until  nearly  daylight  and  the  men  were  chilled  with  wet 
clothing.  Many  of  them  dropped  down  into  the  fence  corners 
and  on  the  banks  of  the  roadside  and  were  soon  asleep,  while  those 
who  could  find  room  took  refuge  in  a  cotton  gin,  where  Edwards' 
batterymen  were  quartered. 

The  column  of  batteries  moved  forward  at  daylight,  came  up 
with  the  infantry  at  8  o'clock  and  encamped.  Water  was  very 
scarce,  there  being  no  springs  whatever  between  the  Big  Black 
River  and  Jackson.  Dwellings  were  supplied  by  rain  conducted 
from  the  roofs  of  the  buildings  into  cemented  cisterns.  Nearly 
every  house  was  deserted  by  its  owner,  and  in  many  instances  tar, 
turpentine,  ashes  and  other  offensive  matter  had  been  thrown  into 
the  cisterns  before  they  fled.  An  occasional  stream  found  on  the 
march  was  polluted  by  dead  animals.  A  pond  near  the  plantation 
buildings,  supplied  by  the  rains,  furnished  water  for  the  live  stock. 
This  water  was  stagnant  and  frequently  covered  with  green  scum. 
In  the  absence  of  anything  better,  canteens  were  filled  with  the 
miasmatic  liquid.  Water  from  the  ditches  during  a  shower  was 
freely  used.  Orders  were  issued  for  each  company  to  capture  a 
mule  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  water  during  the  march  and  pend 
ing  battle.  It  was  not  long  after  the  order  was  given  before  the 
boys  were  leading  into  the  lines  mules  by  the  dozen,  which 
proved  a  valuable  means  of  keeping  up  the  supply  of  water,  which 
had  to  be  brought  from  great  distances. 


144  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  country  was  principally  settled  by  wealthy  planters,  who 
had  fine  houses  and  furniture.  They  were  now  despoiled  by  van 
dalism.  Both  sides  of  the  road  were  strewn  with  all  manner  of 
plunder — old  clothes,  pieces  of  furniture,  bedding,  iron  pots, 
dutch  ovens,  letters,  books,  etc. 

The  prospect  of  food  for  the  men  and  horses  was  anything 
but  cheering,  everything  being  left  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
when  the  bridge  collapsed.  On  investigating  some  log  buildings 
near  the  camp  enough  corn  for  a  couple  of  days'  feeding  was 
found,  and  the  commissary  issued  the  battery  two  days'  rations. 
The  lady  residing  opposite  the  camp  said  that  Johnston's  men  had 
been  there  the  day  previous,  and  that  they  had  done  her  more 
injury  than  the  Union  troops  had  inflicted. 

The  march  was  again  resumed  in  the  afternoon.  The  coun 
try  now  passed  through  was  in  a  better  state  of  cultivation.  The 
buildings  were  neat  and  had  every  appearance  of  comfort  and 
luxury.  The  negro  quarters  belonging  to  some  of  the  plantations 
would  make  respectable  villages.  Very  few  negro  men  were  seen, 
they  having  been  carried  off  when  the  owners  left  their  property  to 
the  mercy  of  the  Yankees.  Night  came  on,  yet  there  was  light 
enough  from  the  burning  cotton  houses  that  had  been  fired  by  the 
Western  troops  in  advance.  Soon  after  sundown  the  house  of  Joe 
Davis,  Jeff's  brother,  was  passed.  He  had  left  a  few  days  before, 
taking  with  him  several  hundred  slaves.  A  dash  for  his  cistern 
was  made  by  the  batterymen,  but  the  water  had  been  spoiled. 
The  house  was  elegantly  furnished  with  two  fine  pianos,  etc. ,  a 
large  library  strewed  around  ;  deserted  in  a  hurry  like  all  others 
that  had  been  passed.  Some  infantrymen  thumped  upon  the  pianos 
for  a  while  and  ended  the  performance  by  a  charge  of  bayonets 
upon  the  instruments.  This  house  was  fired  by  the  troops  in  the 
rear  before  the  battery  had  gone  half  a  mile  from  it.  The  com 
mand  bivouacked  about  u  P.  M.,  in  a  potato  patch.  No  water 
could  be  found,  so  the  poor  horses  and  men  had  to  do  without  for 
the  night. 

Reveille  was  sounded  at  4  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  9th. 
The  horses  were  watered  out  of  a  dirty  puddle  that  was  discovered 
some  distance  from  the  bivouac.  The  men  were  put  to  great 
straits  to  find  drinking  water,  and  with  which  to  make  coffee.  A 
few  puddles  were  found  in  the  woods,  yellowish  in  color,  rather 
poor,  but  eagerly  taken.  Some  of  the  men  discovered  small  fish 
in  their  coffee  that  morning.  A  raid  was  made  on  the  first  house 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  145 

reached  after  the  march  began,  for  water.  It  was  deserted,  and 
the  cisterns,  three  in  number,  befouled  with  coal  oil,  as  the  negroes 
said,  "  put  in  to  make  the  water  good."  This  house  was  soon 
afterward  burned 

The  main  road  was  but  little  followed,  the  plantation  routes 
through  the  woods  and  military  roads  across  the  fields  being  gener 
ally  taken.  A  number  of  deserters  joined  the  column,  and  were 
very  desirous  of  getting  away  from  the  clutches  of  the  Confederates. 
The  whole  route  of  march  showed  that  this  part  of  the  confederacy 
had  fulfilled  to  the  letter  Davis'  proclamation  to  plant  corn,  for 
every  available  piece  of  ground  was  covered  with  that  crop. 

A  short  halt  was  made  near  the  town  of  Clinton  where  pretty 
good  water  was  obtained.  The  property  upon  which  the  stop  was 
made  belonged  to  a  man  from  Pennsylvania,  who  had  been  in  the 
Confederate  army  and  was  wounded  before  Richmond.  A  pair 
of  crutches  was  his  pension  for  disloyalty.  His  daughter,  or  wife, 
amused  herself  by  going  one  eye  on  the  troops  through  a  crack  in 
the  curtain.  Moving  a  short  distance,  another  halt  was  made  in  a 
hot  corn  field,  to  rest  and  make  coffee.  The  column  was  gradu 
ally  nearing  the  enemy,  for  cannonading  was  heard  toward  evening. 
The  day  was  very  hot  and  unpleasant,  the  i6th  Corps,  which 
was  in  advance,  fired  a  number  of  buildings.  A  dozen  fires  could 
be  seen  at  one  time  in  different  directions.  About  9  P.  M.,  the 
Ninth  Corps  went  into  bivouac,  as  the  road  in  front  was  blocked, 
two  corps  having  met  on  the  same  road.  There  was  great  difficulty 
in  getting  water. 

Firing  was  distinctly  heard  on  the  morning  of  the  roth.  There 
were  but  four  miles  more  to  Jackson,  where  Johnston  was  en 
trenched.  The  Ninth  Corps  emerged  from  the  woods  and  corn 
fields  into  an  open  country,  and,  unfurling  the  flags  marched  for 
ward  ready  at  any  moment  to  form  into  line  of  battle.  The  whole 
corps  with  its  artillery,  glistening  bayonets  and  waving  flags  could 
be  seen  from  an  eminence  on  entering  the  Pearl  River  valley,  and 
presented  an  imposing  scene.  When  it  approached  within  two 
miles  and  a  half  of  Jackson,  the  columns  halted  and  dispositions 
were  made  for  battle.  The  skirmishers  advanced,  and  soon  their 
rifles  were  heard  cracking  for  they  had  found  the  enemy. 

The  battery  moved  a  short  distance  and  awaited  orders  to 
take  position.  Benjamin  was  in  position  and  fired  one  round. 
About  5  P.  M.  the  enemy  was  driven  from  his  position  near  the 
insane  asylum  and  Durell  advanced  a  little  further.  The  planta- 


146  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

tion  on  which  the  halt  was  made  was  well  planted  with  every  kind 
of  army  stores — corn,  beans,  potatoes,  etc. ,  from  which  the  men 
gathered  a  supply  for  pressing  need.  A  great  fire  was  seen  in  the 
direction  of  the  city,  supposed  to  be  the  burning  of  the  enemy's 
army  stores.  One  horse  died  and  five  gave  out  with  heat,  all  hav 
ing  attacks  of  mad  staggers.  The  battery  contingent  which  had 
been  detained  by  the  breaking  of  the  bridge  came  up  in  the  night. 
At  daylight  on  the  nth,  the  battery,  which  had  been  awaiting 
orders  all  night  to  take  position,  moved  to  the  asylum,  located 
about  one  and  a  half  miles  from  the  city.  Here  the  other  batteries 
were  found  engaged  in  cooking  breakfast.  Durell  posted  his  guns 
in  a  peach  orchard  near  the  building.  The  asylum  was  a  fine, 
large  building,  situated  in  ample  and  rather  tastefully  laid  out 
grounds.  It  contained  about  150  patients.  Skirmishing  was  kept 
up  throughout  the  day.  The  enemy  fired  a  few  cannon  shots — one 
at  the  battery,  which  passed  over,  the  others  falling  short — one 
richochetting  and  injuring  a  horse  for  Edwards.  His  fire  was  prin 
cipally  directed  on  the  line  of  infantry  in  advance,  on  which  he 
used  canister. 

A  number  of  prisoners  were  brought  in  from  the  front,  who 
expressed  surprise  that  the  Ninth  Corps  was  there,  they  having 
heard  that  it  was  merely  on  the  way.  An  aide  to  one  of  their 
generals  was  caught  in  his  own  trap.  He  advanced  and  called  to 
the  Yankees  to  cease  firing,  as  they  were  shooting  into  their  own 
men.  He  was  halted  and  captured,  and  presented  a  dejected  ap 
pearance  as  he  was  marched  off  a  prisoner.  The  weather  was  very 
hot,  and  the  peach  trees  afforded  but  scant  shade.  The  infantry 
suffered  terribly  from  the  effects  of  the  heat,  a  number  of  them 
being  stricken  down  by  the  sun.  The  enemy  had  a  decided  advan 
tage  in  being  posted  in  the  timber.  He  was  well  protected  with 
forts  and  long  lines  of  rifle  pits.  The  Union  troops  showed  every 
kind  of  daring,  the  tree- tops  being  filled  with  riflemen  watching  for 
a  "  Johnny  "  to  show  his  head.  The  batterymen  engaged  in  cook 
ing  potatoes  which  were  dug  from  the  asylum  grounds,  but  the  fun 
was  soon  stopped  by  the  guards  who  were  put  on  the  property  to 
protect  it  from  depredations. 

On  the  morning  of  the  i2th  the  right  and  left  sections  of  the 
battery  were  ordered  to  harness  and  hitch  up  horses  in  readiness 
to  move  into  earth  works  erected  on  the  hill  during  the  night,  but 
after  Benjamin  and  Edwards  had  gone  in,  it  was  discovered  that 
there  was  not  room  for  any  more  guns,  so  Durell  was  ordered  to 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  147 

remain  under  the  protection  of  the  peach  trees.  The  picket  lines 
kept  up  a  heavy  fire  during  the  night  until  nearly  daylight.  About 
6  o'clock  the  musketry  fire  became  heavy  and  continued  for  half  an 
hour.  The  enemy,  thinking  that  the  Union  line  had  fallen  back, 
ventured  from  his  entrenchments  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
Union  line  when  he  was  driven  back  with  considerable  loss.  The 
Western  batteries  to  the  left  opened  their  guns  and  fired  with  great 
rapidity.  Benjamin  and  Edwards  opened  also,  so  warmly  that 
Durell's  men  were  in  danger  from  Benjamin's  imperfect  ammuni 
tion,  which  was  breaking  rather  close  instead  of  passing  overhead 
as  it  was  intended  it  should  do. 

After  the  storm  of  battle  had  passed  and  a  normal  state  of  af 
fairs  had  again  settled  along  the  lines,  the  men  spent  the  time  as 
best  they  could  ;  some  by  sleeping,  others  by  talking  with  the 
inmates  of  the  asylum.  Some  of  the  latter,  especially  the  women, 
were  very  bitter  on  Yankees.  Very  little  firing  was  heard  after 
meridian,  when  the  Union  troops  fell  back  about  300  yards.  The 
battery  was  ordered  to  vacate  the  grounds  to  let  the  infantry  have 
them  to  watch  the  ravines  and  be  ready  for  the  enemy  should  he 
make  an  assault.  Durell's  guns  were  then  posted  on  a  vacant  lot 
in  rear  of  the  asylum. 

The  engineer  of  the  institution  remarked  that  with  the  loss  of 
Mississippi  the  Confederacy  would  collapse,  and  that  he  could 
hardly  believe  that  Vicksburg  had  fallen.  He  said  that  the  high 
prices  for  everything  was  ruining  them.  Flour  was  $80  per  barrel, 
and  hard  to  get  at  that  His  wife  had  given  $15  for  a  pair  of  shoes 
for  his  daughter,  aged  17  years,  and  $21  for  seven  yards  of  calico 
She  had  tried  to  purchase  a  pair  of  gaiters  for  herself  in  Jackson, 
but  could  get  none  under  $35.  Though  he  had  never  known 
money  to  be  so  plentiful,  it  was  not  worth  much. 

At  daylight  on  the  i3th  the  command  was  ordered  to  be 
ready  to  move,  as  the  enemy  was  massing  his  troops  on  the  left 
with  the  intention  of  attempting  to  break  out,  or  of  evacuating. 
The  pickets  were  engaged  and  the  enemy  was  using  his  artillery  on 
the  Union  skirmishers  and  shelling  the  woods.  An  hour  later  there 
was  a  lull  in  the  battle  when  orders  were  issued  to  unharness  and 
remain  quiet  for  the  present.  The  horses  were  given  water,  but 
there  was  no  feed  on  hand  for  them.  Three  more  of  these  faith 
ful  creatures  were  lost  during  the  night  by  the  staggers,  among 
them  the  renowned  "General  Burnside. " 


148  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  next  day  the  teams  went  out  in  search  of  forage  and 
returned  with  a  lot  of  oats  in  the  sheaf.  An  hospital  was  impro 
vised  for  the  equines,  as  many  of  them  were  sick  and  under  the 
doctor's  care.  A  number  of  men  were  receiving  instructions  as 
horse  doctors,  for  many  of  them  were  always  on  hand  when  a  horse 
needed  bleeding. 

The  enemy  seemed  to  be  anxious  to  find  where  the  troops 
were  posted,  for  he  shelled  around  during  the  day  in  various  direc 
tions  to  draw  the  Union  fire.  One  of  his  random  shots  passed 
over  the  battery  camp  and  fell  beyond  in  the  woods.  Another 
went  through  the  walls  of  the  upper  story  of  the  asylum,  creating 
the  wildest  confusion  and  terror  among  the  inmates,  but  no  one 
was  hurt.  The  troops  were  now  put  on  half  rations,  being  notified 
that  such  would  be  the  case  until  the  2oth,  by  which  time  the  rail 
road  would  be  opened. 

In  the  afternoon  Johnston  sent  over  a  flag  of  truce  asking 
permission  to  bury  his  dead.  General  Smith  conferred  with  the 
truce  officer  and  six  hours  were  given.  The  general  reported  that 
he  had  seen  the  most  ludicrous  sight  when  out  that  he  had  ever 
witnessed  :  Union  troops  seated  in  arm  chairs,  rocking  chairs,  lying 
on  sofas  and  on  carpets  spread  on  the  ground,  fighting  the  enemy. 

Sergeant  Sailor's  piece  was  sent  up  to  Benjamin's  Battery  and 
ordered  to  fire  into  the  city  at  intervals  of  ten  minutes  throughout 
the  night,  taking  the  cupola  of  the  State  house  as  the  target. 
Sergeant  Bouse' s  piece  was  also  taken  to  the  same  position  the  next 
morning  and  opened  upon  the  city,  the  Confederates  replying  with 
an  occasional  shot.  The  cisterns  in  the  vicinity  having  been 
drained,  water  had  to  be  hauled  a  mile.  Lieutenant  Leoser 
returned  from  leave  of  absence,  bringing  with  him  newspapers 
which  gave  an  account  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 

The  battery  was  called  up  at  i  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 6th,  with  orders  to  harness  and  be  ready  to  move  at  any  moment. 
Infantry  marched  by  to  the  front  at  daylight,  and  Steel's  Division 
of  the  1 6th  Corps  passed  up  the  road  to  the  left  to  meet  an  attack 
of  the  enemy's  cavalry  expected  from  that  quarter.  The  battery 
stood  hitched  up  until  noon,  and  hitched  and  unhitched  the  horses 
several  times  during  the  afternoon.  Heavy  cannonading  opened 
on  both  sides  early  in  the  morning.  The  enemy  sent  three  shots 
through  the  asylum,  wounding  one  of  the  patients.  A  number 
were  fired  at  the  section  stationed  with  Benjamin,  all  rather  short, 
with  the  exception  of  one,  which  struck  in  the  midst  of  the  bat- 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  149 

tery,  between  the  line  of  pieces  and  caissons,  throwing  dirt  in 
every  direction.  Another  passed  over,  upsetting  the  breakfast  of 
some  infantry  in  the  rear.  The  shots  were  64  pounder  percussion 
shell,  filled  with  mud,  the  powder  having  been  taken  out.  The 
musketry  fire  was  very  heavy  during  part  of  the  forenoon.  In  the 
afternoon  the  enemy  directed  a  fusilade  with  his  artillery,  wasting 
ammunition,  and  accomplishing  nothing  perceptible.  All  was 
quiet  along  the  lines  on  the  morning  of  the  lyth,  and  it  was  early 
ascertained  that  the  enemy  had  left.  The  first  and  third  pieces 
were  the  only  guns  of  the  battery  actually  engaged  in  this  eight 
days'  siege,  Sergeant  Sailor's  piece  firing  eighty-four  shots  and 
Sergeant  House's  about  the  same  number. 

All  night  Sherman  heard  the  sound  of  wagons,  but  nothing  to 
indicate  evacuation,  for  the  picks  and  shovels  were  at  work  till 
midnight.  The  Confederates  had  burned  all  the  bridges  over 
Pearl  River  in  retreating  and  removed  the  war  material  in  advance 
of  the  retreat  by  means  of  the  railroad  running  east. 

The  discovery  of  the  evacuation  was  made  in  this  wise  :  At  2 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  5ist  Pennsylvania,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Schall  commanding  (Colonel  Hartranft  then  commanding  the 
brigade),  was  taken  down  a  deep  ravine  and  placed  on  picket 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  enemy's  rifle-pits.  As  soon  as  day  began 
to  dawn,  Captain  George  W.  Bisbing,  of  Company  I,  concluded  to 
to  feel  the  position.  As  the  regiment  was  ignorant  of  the  ground, 
the  captain  went  outside  of  the  rifle-pits  to  make  an  individual 
reconnoisance,  and  found  the  pits  empty.  The  enemy  had  evacu 
ated  them  about  an  hour  before  the  discovery. 

The  Second  Brigade  was  the  first  to  enter  the  city  and  plant 
the  colors  upon  the  dome  of  the  capital. 

"  It  was  a  matter  for  much  congratulation,"  says  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Schall,  in  the  History  of  the  51  st  Pennsylvania,  "  that  the  Ninth  Corps  was  the 
first  to  enter  the  city.  The  Western  troops  felt  much  mortified,  and  said  that 
their  Eastern  comrades  were  too  fast ;  that  they  had  advanced  without  orders, 
and  like  pleas  for  their  tardiness.  Some  of  the  Ninth  Corps  men  took  especial 
delight  in  teasing  the  Western  men  for  the  jibes  and  sneers  cast  at  them  when 
they  first  joined  the  Vickshurg  army.  As  they  moved  toward  the  State  house, 
regiment  after  regiment,  some  would  hail  them  with,  '  Boys,  you're  too  late;  the 
whiskey  is  all  gone  ;  the  Ninth  Corps  got  all  of  it  over  an  hour  ago. '  This  grated 
harshly  on  their  ears— not  the  matter  of  whiskey  — but  the  fact  of  the  Ninth 
Corps  getting  first  into  Jackson.  They  could  not,  however,  with  these  facts 
before  them,  resist  the  temptation  to  tease  the  Ninth  Corps  men  with  their  want 
of  success  in  the  East,  and  their  constant  retreats,  etc.  Whenever  they  did, 
they  received  the  following  sharp  repartee  :  '  Never  mind,  boys  ;  we  walked 
into  Jackson  while  you  were  lying  asleep  in  the  bushes  and  firing  at  imaginary 
rebels.'  " 


150  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  Western  men  had  hailed  the  Ninth  Corps  with  such  terms 
as,  "All  quiet  along  the  Potomac?"  "  Band- box  and  paper-col 
lar  soldiers  :  "  "  We'll  show  you  how  to  fight."  They  attributed 
the  lack  of  victories  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  weak  and 
wavering  qualities  in  its  soldiers.  Some  of  them  had  reason  to 
change  their  views  during  the  fighting  before  Jackson.  The  looth 
Illinois  made  a  charge  upon  the  enemy's  line,  but  were  repulsed, 
falling  back  in  confusion  upon  a  regiment  of  the  Ninth  Corps, 
which  happened  to  be  the  looth  Pennsylvania — the  famous 
"Round  Heads"  from  Pittsburg.  The  "Round  Heads"  halted 
the  demoralized  Western  troops  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and 
then  made  the  charge  and  carried  the  line  which  the  looth  Illinois 
failed  to  take.  This  incident  put  a  partial  stop  to  the  guying  from 
the  Western  men. 

Remaining  until  the  2oth  to  complete  the  work  of  destruction, 
Sherman  marched  back  to  Vicksburg.  In  the  meantime  the  troops 
carried  much  spoil  from  the  city  into  the  camps,  surrounding  them 
selves  with  luxuries  and  fared  sumptuously.  The  artillerists  now 
had  plenty  to  eat,  but  water  continued  scarce  and  poor.  The  sick 
list  increased,  principally  with  cases  of  diarrhoea  and  ague.  Squads 
of  Confederate  deserters  were  picked  up  and  marched  to  head 
quarters.  Newspapers,  containing  accounts  of  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  reached  camp  on  the  i9th,  and  had  a  rapid  sale  at 
twenty  cents  per  copy. 

The  battery  moved  from  the  asylum  camp  early  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  2oth,  and  after  marching  a  few  hundred  yards  was 
halted  to  allow  the  First  Division,  with  all  of  its  baggage  wagons, 
to  pass.  Following  the  road  a  short  distance,  the  column  turned 
into  the  woods  and  traversed  the  plantation  roads  and  corn  fields, 
which  it  had  passed  in  the  advance  upon  Jackson.  A  halt  was 
made  at  noon  in  the  shade  of  a  woods  just  above  Clinton,  to  give 
rest  to  the  troops  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  The  column  moved 
again  at  4  o'clock,  on  a  route  leading  to  a  crossing  several  miles 
below  the  former  crossing  of  the  Big  Black  River. 

The  men  improved  every  halt  in  roasting  corn,  of  which  there 
was  an  abundance.  Water  was  also  convenient  here.  The  road 
was  bad  which  made  progress  slow.  The  men  gathered  green 
peaches  and  apples  from  the  numerous  orchards  and  ate  them.  A 
short  time  after  dark  the  column  turned  from  the  open  road  into 
one  leading  through  a  dark  woods  and  bivouacked  about  n  P.  M. , 
tired  and  almost  supperless,  having  nothing  but  hard  tack,  and  no 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  151 

water  with  which  to  make  coffee.  The  air  was  intensely  hot,  the 
sun  having  shone  during  the  day  with  dog-day  fury,  and  the  dust 
in  the  roads  rose  in  such  clouds  as  to  hide  the  battery  when 
marching. 

Reveille  was  sounded  at  3  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and  after 
some  dilly-dallying  by  the  generals,  the  order  of  march  was  settled. 
The  battery  was  to  follow  its  own  brigade,  and  the  division  to  lead 
the  column.  Coffee  was  about  ready  when  orders  came  to  move 
on,  and  but  few  of  the  men  got  an  opportunity  to  drink  it.  The 
water  supply  proved  better  during  the  day,  a  few  swamp  holes  being 
passed  along  the  road.  All  the  peach  orchards  were  visited  and 
there  was  not  a  melon  patch  but  received  the  attention  of  the  sol 
diers.  The  village  of  Brownsville,  consisting  of  about  a  dozen 
houses,  pretty  well  used  up,  was  passed.  The  stores  in  the  place 
were  completely  gutted,  and  the  contents  strewn  in  every  direc 
tion,  torn  or  broken. 

The  battery  halted  in  the  shade  of  a  woods  from  1 1  until  4  P. 
M.  The  water  in  a  few  holes  of  a  dry  creek  close  by  was  eagerly 
seized  by  man  and  beast  alike.  It  was  yellow  with  stagnation,  but 
all  hands  were  satisfied  with  the  coffee  it  made.  Ears  of  corn, 
with  half  the  husk  stripped,  was  run  into  heaps  of  hot  coals  and 
ashes  of  the  camp  fires  and  soon  rendered  very  palatable  with  a 
pinch  of  salt  added,  which,  with  the  hard-tack,  made  a  highly 
enjoyed  meal. 

The  march  now  became  necessarily  slow  and  tedious,  as  the 
region  of  the  bluffs  along  the  Big  Black  was  approached.  The 
dust  was  suffocating,  and  the  hot  sun  beat  fiercely  upon  the 
marching  troops.  The  battery  reached  the  river  at  10  P.  M.  about 
five  miles  below  the  point  where  the  caisson  and  horses  had  been 
lost  with  the  breaking  of  the  bridge,  near  a  number  of  springs  of 
good  water. 

Reveille  was  not  sounded  on  the  2  2nd  until  after  sunrise,  when 
the  river  was  crossed  on  a  strong  bridge.  Edwards'  Battery  was 
on  the  advance,  the  artillery  brigade  marching  independently  of 
the  infantry,  which  did  not  move  until  4  P.  M. ,  to  allow  the  strag 
glers  to  catch  up  to  their  commands.  About  noon  an  old  camp 
ground  of  the  battery  at  Oak  Ridge  was  passed,  where  a  new  route 
was  taken  through  the  woods  to  Mill  Dale.  A  halt  was  caused  by 
one  of  Benjamin's  horses  giving  out.  After  moving  another  mile 
there  was  a  long  halt,  during  which  a  heavy  thunder  storm  came 
up,  which  settled  the  dust  and  drenched  the  troops.  Night  caught 


152  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

the  brigade  still  waiting.  There  was  a  very  difficult  hill  ahead  to 
contend  with,  and  the  doubling  of  teams  consumed  time.  Then 
came  the  order  to  camp,  which  was  gladly  obeyed,  and  after  a 
supper  on  roast  corn,  the  men  enjoyed  a  whole  night  of  uninter 
rupted  sleep,  not  being  called  until  after  sunrise,  though  the  orders 
were  to  be  ready  to  move  at  daybreak. 

The  infantry  of  the  Second  Division  came  up  the  next  morn 
ing,  when  the  battery  followed  the  column,  having  no  little  diffi 
culty  in  drawing  its  guns  and  wagons  up  the  steep  hill.  Reaching 
Mill  Dale  a  halt  was  made  at  the  springs  of  the  old  camp  ground  to 
fill  the  canteens  with  good  water.  The  march  then  proceeded 
to  Haines'  Bluff  where  the  troops  encamped  in  a  woods  a  mile  from 
the  land'ng.  It  was  a  poor  camp  ground,  full  of  brush,  weeds  and 
briars,  and  half  a  mile  from  water.  It  was,  however,  the  place 
assigned  by  the  chief  of  artillery,  from  whose  decision  there  was  no 
appeal.  The  command  was  to  await  transportation  back  to  Ken 
tucky. 

Thus  ended  a  notable  march  which  was  set  down  as  being  the 
hardest  that  the  Ninth  Corps  had,  up  to  that  date,  made.  The 
troops  had  had  a  day  and  a  half's  rations  for  the  whole  march  of 
nearly  four  days,  in  a  hot  climate,  where  water  was  scarce  and  very 
poor.  The  distance  covered  was  about  sixty  miles.  They  were 
now  in  the  enjoyment  of  rest.  They  had  opportunity  to  wash  their 
clothes  and  received  full  rations,  including  flour,  of  which  "  slap 
jacks"  were  the  favorite  product.  The  jaded  and  half-starved 
horses  also  received  the  regular  ration  of  oats  and  hay. 

On  the  night  after  the  arrival  at  this  camp,  orderlies  wtre 
riding  from  camp  to  camp  with  the  same  haste  and  confusion  as 
would  be  shown  if  a  big  battle  was  expected  the  next  day.  The 
generals  discovered  that  they  must  rouse  everybody  up  at  midnight, 
to  engage  transportation  for  them,  and  that  everybody  should  fur 
nish  themselves  with  ten  days'  rations.  From  the  bustle  and 
activity  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  the  whole  corps  would 
be  loaded  on  boats  before  morning,  but  the  battery  officers  were 
accustomed  to  such  orders,  and  waited  seventeen  days  for  a  boat. 

The  difficulties  and  encounters  with  Smith's  men,  of  the  i6th 
Corps,  on  the  difference  between  Eastern  and  Western  pluck, 
were  now  adjusted  by  an  order  issued  by  their  commander, 
to  be  published  to  the  Ninth  Corps,  in  which  he  complimented  the 
conduct  and  valor  of  the  Eastern  soldiers,  and  told  his  own  men 
that  their  style  of  fighting  was  such  that  the  Western  men  might 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  CAMPAIGN.  153 

well  emulate.     This  order,  when  read,  brought  many  a  broad  grin 
over  the  faces  of  the  Yankees. 

The  following  order  by  General  Grant  was  also  read  to  the 
troops  of  the  Ninth  Corps  : 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  TENNESSEE, 

VICKSBURG,  Miss.,  July  31,  1863. 
SPECIAL  ORDERS,  No.  207. 

[Extract.]  In  returning  the  Ninth  Corps  toils  former  command,  it  is  with 
pleasure  that  the  commanding  general  acknowledges  its  valuable  services  in  the 
campaign  just  closed.  Arriving  at  Vicksburg  opportunely,  taking  position  to 
hold  at  bay  Johnston's  army,  then  threatening  the  forces  investing  the  city,  it 
was  ready  and  eager  to  assume  the  aggressive  at  any  moment.  After  the  fall  of 
Yicksburg,  it  formed  a  part  of  the  army  which  drove  Johnston  from  his  position 
near  the  Big  Black  into  his  intrenchments  at  Jackson,  and  after  a  siege  of  eight 
days  compelled  him  to  fly  in  disorder  from  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  endur 
ance,  valor  and  general  good  conduct  of  the  Ninth  Army  Corps  are  admired  by 
all,  and  its  valuable  co-operation  in  achieving  the  final  triumph  of  the  campaign 
is  gratefully  acknowledged  by  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee. 

Major  General  Parke  will  cause  the  different  regiments  and  batteries  of  his 
command  to  inscribe  upon  their  banners  and  guidons,  "Vicksburg"  and 
"  Jackson." 

By  order  of  Major  General  U.  S.  GRANT. 

(Signed)  T.  S.  BOWERS,  A.  A.  A.  G. 

The  battles  in  which  the  battery  had  been  engaged  up  to  this 
time  were  :  Kelly's  Ford,  August  2ist,  '62  ;  Bristoe  Station, 
August  2yth,  '62  ;  Bull  Run,  August  29th  and  3oth,  '62  ;  Chan- 
tilly,  September  ist,  '62  ;  South  Mountain,  September  i4th,  '62  ; 
Antietam,  September  iyth,  62  ;  White  Sulphur  Springs,  Novem 
ber  1 5th,  '62  ;  Fredericksburg,  December  nth  to  i6th,  '62  • 
Vicksburg,  from  June  lyth  to  July  4th,  '63  ;  Jackson,  from  July 
loth  to  iyth,  '63.  The  casualties  in  these  battles  were:  One 
officer  killed  and  three  men  wounded.  Surely  a  remarkable 
experience. 

The  weather  continued  intensely  hot  and  the  men  were  dread 
fully  tormented  by  flies  and  fleas  by  day,  and  swarms  of  mosqui 
toes  that  came  from  the  recesses  of  the  bayou,  near  the  camp,  by 
night.  A  smudge  fire  was  built  at  each  end  of  the  tarpaulin  tent 
to  keep  them  out.  It  frequently  became  so  dense  as  to  smoke  out 
the  men. 

The  camp  was  visited,  during  the  last  week  of  July,  by  violent 
storms,  attended  with  heavy  thunder,  lightning  and  rain.  The  air 
would  be  filled  at  such  times  with  the  little  shelter  tents,  boughs  of 
trees  and  everything  that  wind  could  bear  aloft.  These  storms 


154  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

were  of  very  frequent  occurrence.  There  was  one  on  the  26th, 
one  on  the  27th,  a  severe  one  on  the  28th,  and  another  on  the 
ist  of  August.  The  thunder  was  terrific,  reminding  the  men  very 
much  of  the  terrible  bombardment  of  Fredericksburg.  The  bat 
tery  camp  ground  was  flooded  and  looked  like  a  pond.  A  serious 
accident  occurred  in  one  of  the  regiments.  A  large  tree  was  bro 
ken  off  by  the  force  of  the  wind,  and  in  its  descent  killed  three 
men  and  seriously  injured  several  more. 

Sickness  increased  rapidly  throughout  the  corps,  some  regi 
ments  burying  two  or  three  men  every  day.  Many  of  the  victims 
did  not  suffer  longer  than  three  or  four  hours.  The  disease  was 
supposed  to  be  yellow  fever,  but  the  surgeons  were  careful  to  keep 
its  nature  from  being  generally  known.  A  ration  of  whiskey  (one 
gill)  and  quinine  was  issued  to  each  man,  morning  and  evening,  to 
counteract  the  bad  effects  of  the  unwholesome  water  and  kill 
malaria  germs.  Diarrhoea  and  malaria  increased  in  the  battery  to 
such  an  extent  that  on  the  8th  of  August  the  men  who  were  well 
enough  were  obliged  to  perform  double  duty. 


RETURN  TO  KENTUCKY.  155 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
RETURN  TO   KENTUCKY. 

THE  battery  embarked  on  August  loth,  with  the  5ist  Penn 
sylvania,  on  the  steamer  South  Webster.  Just  before  the 
battery  moved,  John  Cooney,  of  Bucks  County,  died,  and 
u  detail  of  men  was  left  to  remain  long  enough  to  bury  him  in  the 
camp  ground.  The  sick  were  carried  to  the  boat  in  ambulances 
and  the  deck-hands  of  the  boat  assisted  the  small  number  of  well 
men  in  loading  the  horses,  guns,  wagons,  etc.,  on  the  transport. 
The  surgeons  were  kept  busy  attending  the  sick,  the  upper  deck 
being  almost  covered  with  prostrate  forms  of  suffering  humanity. 
A  stop  for  coal  was  made  at  Helena,  where  a  negro  was  carried 
ashore  who  was  sick  with  small-pox. 

The  boat  arrived  at  Memphis  on  the  i3th,  where  ten  of  the 
battery's  sick  were  left  in  a  hospital,  three  of  whom  died  on  the 
1 5th — Samuel  O.  Burden  and  Albert  H.  Reider,  of  Reading,  and 
Charles  Reigling,  of  Lehigh  County.  Fifty -two  men  were  on  the 
sick  list  and  many  of  the  remainder  were  unfit  for  duty.  Most  of 
them  were  suffering  from  chills  and  fever. 

The  boat  arrived  at  Cairo  early  on  the  i6th,  where  the  infan 
try  landed  and  the  horses  were  taken  ashore,  but  a  shower  made 
the  steep  banks  too  slippery  to  draw  up  the  heavy  guns  and  car 
riages,  and  the  work  of  disembarkation  was  suspended  for  the  time 
and  until  the  rain  ceased.  A  detail  of  the  5ist  Pensylvania  as 
sisted  in  the  work  of  unloading.  Thirteen  more  of  the  battery 
were  taken  to  the  Mound  City  Hospital.  The  horses  and  guns, 
and  the  men  who  were  well  enough,  were  loaded  on  cars  and 
transported  to  Cincinnati,  while  the  men  who  were  not  able  to  sit  up 
in  the  cars  were  transferred  to  the  hospital  boat  Tempest,  which  left 
at  noon  on  the  i8th  for  Cincinnati.  The  boat  was  filled  with  the 
sick  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  twenty- two  of  whom  were  members  of 
Durell's  Battery.  A  stop  was  made  at  Mound  City  to  take  on 
some  sick  of  the  corps,  nine  of  whom  belonged  to  the  battery. 
Two  yet  remained  in  the  hospital,  who  died  a  day  or  two  after 
ward — Sergeant  Geo.  A.  Kverhart,  of  Doylestown,  and  John 
Beatty  Price,  of  Buckingham,  Bucks  County.  Two  men  died  of 


156  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

fever  on  the  boat  on  the  ipth.  Charles  A.  Fageley,  of  Hilltown, 
passed  away  at  about  daylight.  A  rough  coffin  was  made,  and 
when  the  boat  stopped  for  coal  at  Caseyville,  his  remains  were 
buried  on  the  river  bank.  Sergeant  James  Q.  Irwin,  of  Honey- 
brook,  Chester  County,  died  in  the  evening,  and  when  the  boat 
stopped  at  Evansville,  Indiana,  during  the  night,  his  body  was 
left  in  charge  of  a  citizen,  for  temporary  interment  in  the  cemetery, 
until  his  father  could  come  for  it.  The  saloon  of  the  boat  was 
crowded  with  sick  infantry  of  the  corps,  a  half  dozen  of  whom  died. 
The  bodies  were  taken  off  for  burial  at  the  first  stopping  place. 

A  fresh  supply  of  ice  was  taken  aboard  at  Louisville  on  the 
2 1 st.  The  sick  were  plentifully  supplied  with  tea,  gruel,  soft 
bread,  baked  apples,  beef  soup,  bean  soup,  beefsteak,  potatoes  and 
ham,  which  were  served  according  to  the  condition  and  needs  of 
the  patients.  A  number  of  cases  improved  rapidly  under  the  good 
care  and  treatment  received,  so  that  when  the  boat  reached  Cin 
cinnati,  they  determined  to  join  their  command,  having  a  dread 
of  the  hospitals,  which  had  a  reputation  for  poor  treatment  of  the 
sick. 

An  accident  occurred  above  Louisville  on  the  night  of  the 
2ist.  A  large  United  States  mail  steamer  going  down  the  Ohio 
ran  into  the  hospital  boat  and  stove  a  hole  near  the  latter' s  bow, 
in  consequence  of  which  she  began  to  leak.  The  boat  put  into 
shore  where  the  damage  was  soon  repaired,  and  she  proceeded  to 
Cincinnati,  arriving  on  the  evening  of  the  22nd. 

The  next  day  every  man  made  a  supreme  effort  to  return  to 
the  battery,  which,  it  was  learned,  was  encamped  on  the  outskirts 
ofCovington,  Ky.,  but  it  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before  trans 
portation  on  the  ferry  could  be  obtained.  Eighteen  men,  who 
were  able  to  walk,  started  to  join  their  command,  and  the  other 
ten  were  taken  in  ambulances  to  the  hospital.  Reaching  Coving- 
ton,  one  man  was  left  at  the  wharf  to  guard  the  knapsacks  until  a 
team  could  be  sent  for  them,  and  the  squad  of  emaciated  and 
feeble  invalids  went  out  Main  street  with  tottering  step  toward 
camp,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant.  The  hot  sun  tried  the  con 
valescents  severely,  and  they  were  compelled  to  make  a  number  of 
halts  for  rest  upon  the  curbstones  before  the  camp  was  reached. 
However,  this  squad,  small  in  number  and  weak  in  physical 
strength,  was  hailed  as  a  timely  and  welcome  reinforcement  by  the 
dozen  men  there  fit  for  duty.  The  horses  had  received  little 
Bags  of  oats  were  cut  and  the  contents  poured  on  the 


RETURN  TO  KENTUCKY.  157 

ground  along  the  picket  rope  for  them  at  feeding  time,  and  when 
watering  time  came  they  were  untied  and  allowed  to  go  unattended 
to  a  near-by  stream.  The  faithful  creatures  appeared  to  under 
stand  the  situation,  and  rarely  betrayed  the  confidence  reposed 
in  them,  their  return  to  the  picket  rope  being  prompt  in  nearly 
every  instance. 

The  paymaster  called  on  the  24th  with  two  months'  pay. 
The  few  men  who  were  able  to  turn  out  fell  into  line,  upon  which 
the  paymaster  observed  that  "  there  were  still  a  few  of  the  veterans 
left. ' '  He  had  a  word  of  encouragement  or  humor  for  every  man 
as  he  came  up  to  draw  his  pay. 

The  battery  received  several  orders  to  join  its  brigade,  which 
left  Covington  on  the  26th,  but  Captain  Durell  informed  his  supe 
riors  that  it  was  impossible  to  do  so  without  men  to  handle  the 
horses  and  guns.  When  the  battery  left  Kentucky  for  Vicksburg, 
it  was  in  excellent  condition,  numbering  one  hundred  and  twenty 
strong,  having  arms,  accoutrements  and  horses  well  equipped,  and 
all  in  the  highest  state  of  efficiency.  Upon  its  return,  after  an 
absence  of  a  little  more  than  two  months,  ten  of  its  number  had 
died,  about  forty  were  sick  in  hospital,  and  of  those  who  were  in 
camp,  only  some  fifteen  or  twenty  were  fit  for  duty.  The  loss 
among  the  horses  was  even  greater  than  among  the  men.  About 
half  of  the  entire  number  had  died,  and  of  those  that  remained, 
but  a  small  number  were  serviceable.  There  was  plenty  to  eat 
now.  Besides  a  full  army  ration,  regularly  issued,  the  camp 
swarmed  with  women,  who  brought  for  sale  cooked  victuals  of  all 
kinds.  Captain  Durell  also  procured  delicacies  for  the  sick  from 
the  Sanitary  Commission,  which  were  brought  over  from  Cincinnati 
in  the  battery  ambulance. 

On  the  3ist  the  pay-roll  was  signed,  and  on  September  2nd, 
the  paymaster  disbursed  another  two  months'  pay.  Those  who 
were  able  to  be  about  again  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  visiting  Cov 
ington  and  Cincinnati,  for  which  passes  were  freely  given  by  the 
officers.  It  was  a  welcome  break  in  the  monotony  of  camp  life, 
which  grew  very  irksome  after  the  active  service  which  the  battery 
had  experienced  for  upwards  of  a  year  previous. 

A  very  heavy  rain  fell  on  the  6th,  submerging  most  of  the 
tent  floors,  and  soaking  blankets,  clothing,  etc.  There  was  yet 
much  sickness  among  the  men.  The  captain  was  advised  of  the 
death  of  Burden,  Reider  and  Reigling  at  Memphis,  and  of  the 
remaining  seven,  one  was  too  sick  to  be  moved  and  the  other  six 


158  DURELL' s  BATTERY. 

had  been  sent  home  on  furloughs.  Charles  Jones,  at  time  of  en 
listment  a  resident  of  New  Britain  township,  Bucks  County,  was 
taken  from  camp  to  the  Seminary  Hospital,  Covington,  and  died 
of  dysentery  on  September  nth.  William  S.  McNair,  who  had 
escaped  an  attack  while  down  the  river,  was  now  taken  sick  in  camp. 

A  regiment  of  green  troops,  the  First  Ohio  Artillery,  were 
quartered  in  barracks  near  the  battery  camp.  They  complained 
very  much  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were  used,  and  wanted  to 
go  into  active  service.  They  garrisoned  the  works  in  the  rear  of 
Covington,  on  the  high  hills,  where  no  enemy  ever  made  an 
appearance.  There  were  also  some  400  to  500  conscripts 
encamped  near  by,  awaiting  distribution  to  the  different  Ohio 
regiments.  They  were  novices  and  had  a  great  many  things  to 
learn  in  soldiering,  especially  as  to  pitching  tents.  They  usually 
pitched  them  in  the  hollow,  instead  of  setting  them  on  the  hill 
side.  When  a  rain  came  it  washed  them  all  away. 

Sergeant  Henry  Sailor  was  taken  to  Camp  Dennison  Hospital, 
Ohio,  on  the  i5th  of  September.  A  number  of  the  battery  horses 
were  condemned  on  the  2ist,  and  turned  into  the  government 
corrall.  Corporal  William  G.  Mack,  of  Berks  County,  died  very 
suddenly  in  camp  on  the  22nd,  and  was  buried  the  next  day  in  the 
Baptist  burying  ground  in  Covington.  The  remains  were  carried 
thither  in  the  ambulance,  escorted  by  a  sergeant,  a  corporal  and 
two  privates. 

A  few  men  returned  to  camp  from  the  hospital,  but  on  the 
1 8th  nine  more  sick  were  taken  away.  Lieutenant  George  W. 
Silvis  had  gone  home  on  thirty  days'  sick  leave,  and  Lieutenant 
Christopher  Leoser  also  went  home,  sick.  Captain  Durell  was  the 
only  commissioned  officer  left.  He  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  for 
the  welfare  of  his  men,  and  in  refitting  the  battery  with  new  tents, 
horses,  harness,  wagons,  cooking  utensils,  etc.,  in  order  that  his 
command  would  be  in  readiness  to  join  the  corps  again,  as  soon  as 
a  sufficient  force  of  men  recovered.  The  corps  was  then  on  the 
inarch  over  the  Cumberland  Mountains  into  East  Tennessee. 

The  camp  was  moved  a  few  hundred  yards  on  the  28th,  where 
new  tarpaulin  tents  were  erected.  The  next  day  Sergeant  Sailor 
and  Corporals  Giffens  and  Bender  returned  from  Camp  Dennison 
Hospital,  and  three  men  came  back  from  the  Seminary  Hospital, 
Covington.  On  the  2nd  of  October  the  doctor  and  Captain  Durell 
concluded  that  five  more  men  should  be  sent  to  the  hospital, 
among  them  being  Orderly  Sergeant  William  P.  Andrews.  They 


RETURN  TO  KENTUCKY.  159 

were  taken  to  the  Seminary  Hospital.  Nearly  all  of  them  kicked 
a  little  against  going  ;  but  it  was  no  use,  go  they  must ;  and  they 
were  afterwards  glad  that  they  were  taken.  There  each  one  had  a 
good,  soft  bed,  a  dry,  warm  room,  and  a  good  fire  to  sit  by.  They 
were  well  cared  for.  They  had  plenty  of  good  food,  well  cooked. 
The  doctors  were  kind  and  attentive,  and  did  all  they  could  to 
make  the  patients  comfortable. 

On  the  same  day  Captain  Durell,  accompanied  by  Sergeant 
Rhoads  and  Corporal  Burden,  left  for  Carlisle,  Pa.,  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  conscripts  to  enable  the  battery  to  again  take  the  field. 
Lieutenant  Silvis,  who  had  returned  to  camp  from  leave  of  absence, 
was  left  in  command.  The  captain  had  received  orders  the  day 
before  to  move,  if  he  possibly  could,  as  far  as  Camp  Nelson,  and 
he  did  his  utmost  to  comply  with  the  order,  but  it  was  impossible 
to  do  so. 

On  the  1 3th  of  October  the  election  for  Governor  of  Ohio  took 
place.  Brough  was  the  Republican  and  Vallandigham  was  the 
Democratic  candidate.  Party  feeling  was  hot  and  bitter  through 
out  the  Buckeye  State  and  an  outbreak  was  feared  in  Cincinnati. 
Lieutenant  Silvis  received  orders  to  hold  all  the  available  force  of 
the  battery  in  readiness  to  cross  the  river  at  a  moment's  notice. 
Some  of  the  teams  were  taken  up  on  the  hills  early  in  the  morning 
to  move  the  heavy  guns  manning  the  neighboring  forts,  and  one 
section  of  the  battery's  guns  was  sent  to  the  vicinity  of  the  ferry,  in 
Covington,  in  readiness  to  cross  to  Cincinnati  if  trouble  occurred. 
It  took  all  the  men  fit  for  duty  to  man  one  section.  Two  teams 
were  also  sent  into  Covington  to  take  a  section  of  2o-pounder  Par- 
rotts,  belonging  to  the  heavy  artillery  regiment,  and  the  regiment 
was  to  support  the  artillery.  About  thirty  of  the  men  were  out 
with  the  section  ;  the  remainder  guarded  the  Confederate  prison, 
and  Dick,  the  officers'  colored  cook,  stood  guard  over  the  camp 
with  a  rusty  musket.  Lieutenant  Silvis'  section  stood  in  waiting  at 
headquarters  all  day,  ready  to  cross  to  Cincinnati  ;  but  no  orders 
came,  as  the  election  passed  off  without  any  serious  disturbance. 
The  section  was  ordered  back  to  camp  after  the  close  of  the  polls, 
with  orders  to  keep  the  horses  harnessed  until  10  o'clock. 

The  health  of  the  men  improved,  and  there  was  a  gradual  but 
slow  reinforcement  of  the  ranks  by  returns  from  hospitals.  Gilbert 
Bissey  came  back  to  camp  on  October  i5th,  and  by  the  24th  two 
others  had  returned  from  sick  furlough  and  six  from  the  Covington 
hospital.  Lieutenant  Leoser,  who  had  been  at  home  on  sick  leave 


160  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

for  nearly  two  months,  returned   on  the   2Qth,  and  Adley  B.  Law 
rence  reported  for  duty  on  the  3ist. 

The  weather  had  been  warm  and  pleasant  for  some  weeks.  A 
heavy  rain  accompanied  by  high  wind,  which  blew  over  the  com 
pany  cook-house  during  the  night  causing  a  temporary  break  in  the 
service  of  the  rations  now  came  on.  The  storm  was  followed  by 
decidedly  colder  weather,  which  compelled  the  men  to  crowd 
around  the  camp-fires,  and  to  resort  to  the  barracks  near  by,  in 
which  a  regiment  of  green  cavalry  was  quartered,  to  enjoy  the 
warmth  afforded  from  their  large  stoves. 


A  FLYING  TRIP  TO  LAKE  ERIE.  161 


CHAPTER  XX. 
A  FLYING  TRIP  TO  LAKE  ERIE. 

ORDERS  were  received  on  November  i2th  to  make  prepara 
tions  to  leave  at  a  moment's  notice.  It  was  soon  learned 
that  the  battery  was  to  go  to  Johnson's  Island,  in  Lake  Erie, 
near  Sandusky,  Ohio,  to  assist  in  preventing  the  execution  of  a 
contemplated  plot  of  Confederate  emissaries  and  refugees  in  Canada 
to  release  the  prisoners  confined  there.  The  men  were  ordered  to 
take  nothing  with  them  but  blankets  and  overcoats,  with  three  days' 
rations  in  their  haversacks.  Every  man  that  was  able  to  go,  as 
well  as  every  horse  that  could  pull  a  pound,  was  impressed.  The 
battery's  own  guns  were  not  taken,  but  six  20  pounder  Parrott's 
and  one  30-pound  gun  were  drawn  from  Fort  Wright  and  taken 
along.  It  required  all  the  men  of  the  company  to  fill  the  quota  of 
drivers  needed,  and  cannoneers  were  supplied  by  a  detachment  of 
the  First  Ohio  Heavy  Artillery. 

After  waiting  until  dark  in  the  streets  of  Covington,  the  bat 
tery  was  ferried  over  the  river  and  marched  to  the  railroad  depot, 
where  it  was  loaded  on  a  train  for  Sandusky.  The  men  were  all 
crowded  into  one  box-car.  They  were  so  cramped  and  uncom 
fortable  that  some  of  them  moved  out  on  the  open  cars,  and 
spread  their  blankets  under  the  artillery  carriages,  where  they  en 
joyed  more  room,  though  they  did  not  get  much  sleep.  They 
were  exposed  to  a  cold  night's  wind,  but  the  cars  shook  them  up  so 
violently  that  the  blood  was  kept  in  perfect  circulation.  The  train 
made  no  longer  stop  than  was  necessary  to  take  on  wood  and 
water  for  the  engine. 

The  ride  across  the  State  of  Ohio  was  an  interesting  one.  The 
people  turned  out  in  large  numbers  at  most  of  the  towns  where  the 
train  stopped,  treated  the  soldiers  to  food  and  greeted  them  with 
cheers  and  other  evidences  of  kindly  welcome.  Some  of  them  wanted 
the  soldiers  to  kill  Vallandigham,  declaring  that  he  was  at  the  bottom 
of  the  conspiracy.  At  some  points  large  numbers  of  militia  were 
awaiting  transportation  to  the  scene  of  danger.  At  Tiffin  a  whole 
regiment  had  been  called  out  to  quell  the  expected  outbreak,  and 
prevent  the  intended  pillage  of  the  Lake  cities.  By  the  time  the  train 


162  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

reached  Sandusky  there  were  a  large  number  of  soldiers  on  board. 
The  inhabitants  of  that  city  were,  however,  not  so  apprehensive  of 
impending  danger,  and  appeared  to  be  surprised  at  the  arrival  of 
such  a  formidable  body  of  soldiers.  They  were  disposed  to  make 
light  of  the  alarm. 

Immediately  upon  arrival,  after  dark  on  the  i3th,  the  horses 
were  taken  from  the  cars,  put  in  a  cattle-yard  half  a  mile  from  the 
depot,  given  feed  and  water,  and  left  to  the  care  of  a  guard.  Eight 
horses  were,  however,  taken  along  to  the  island  to  draw  the  guns 
from  the  dock  to  the  position  assigned  them.  After  the  men  had 
returned  to  the  depot,  the  pieces  were  taken  from  the  cars,  and 
placed  on  board  of  a  boat  and  ferried  across  the  bay  to  Johnson's 
Island,  where  they  were  immediately  placed  in  position  for  action. 
This  work  was  completed  at  2  o'clock.  The  men,  who  were  very 
much  fatigued,  were  then  provided  with  comfortable  quarters  in  a 
building  just  completed,  and  intended  for  a  sutler  store,  the  owner 
of  which  had  been  arrested  on  a  charge  of  smuggling  letters  to 
prisoners  on  the  island  and  sent  to  Washington. 

Rain  continued  to  fall  throughout  the  next  day,  making  sol 
diering  very  unpleasant,  and  especially  so  for  the  49th  Ohio  Militia, 
which  had  just  arrived  without  tents  and  had  no  place  of  shelter. 
Seeing  the  pitiable  condition  of  the  militia  the  men  of  the  battery 
congratulated  themselves  on  the  good  fortune  that  gave  them  dry 
quarters.  In  the  evening  a  call  was  made  for  three  volunteers 
from  the  battery,  to  work  a  howitzer  on  a  picket  boat  about  to  go 
out  on  the  lake.  Corporal  James  L.  Mast  was  one  of  those  who 
responded.  They  returned  in  the  morning  very  much  pleased 
with  the  night's  experience,  having  enjoyed  good  accommodations 
and  care  while  aboard  the  boat.  At  10  o'clock  the  same  night  the 
men  were  called  up  to  unload  eighty-six  boxes  of  artillery  ammuni 
tion  from  a  boat  to  wagons  and  from  the  wagons  into  a  store  house. 
It  was  reported  that  the  island  was  to  be  attacked  on  the 
morning  of  the  i5th.  Every  preparation  was  made  to  meet  the 
assault,  but  the  enemy  did  not  put  in  an  appearance.  The  battery- 
men  devoted  the  morning  in  initiating  its  detachment  of  the  First 
Ohio  Heavy  Artillery  into  the  mysteries  of  the  gun  drill.  The 
prisoners  were  confined  in  large  barracks  with  an  ample  yard  in 
which  they  were  permitted  to  stroll  during  the  day,  and  numbered 
at  this  time  about  three  thousand  inmates,  a  large  portion  of  them 
being  Confederate  officers.  Several  hundred,  who  had  been  cap 
tured  at  the  recent  battle  at  Rappahannock  Station,  were  brought 


A   FLVINC;  TRIP  TO   LARK   KRIE.  163 

into  the  prison  on  the  i4th,  under  guard  of  a  battalion  of  the 
i5ist  Pennsylvania. 

The  battery  was  called  up  at  4  o'clock  on  the  i6th,  and  ordered 
to  return  to  Covington,  leaving  the  guns  and  detachment  of  Ohio 
Artillery  on  the  island,  to  defend  it  from  any  attempt  that  might 
be  made  by  the  Canadians  and  Confederates  to  release  the  pris 
oners.  The  men  received  the  orders  with  pleasure,  for  they  had 
nothing  with  them  but  blankets  and  overcoats,  and  confinement  on 
the  island  was  becoming  irksome.  The  weather  was  very  disagree 
able,  rain  falling  and  a  chilling  wind  blowing  from  the  lake.  Board 
ing  a  small  ferry-boat  just  large  enough  to  hold  the  company  and 
the  eight  horses,  the  command, was  transferred  to  Sandusky,  reach 
ing  the  city  at  daybreak.  Leaving  their  blankets  at  the  depot,  the 
men  marched  off  in  a  drenching  rain  to  the  cattle  yard.  A  detail 
was  left  behind  to  load  the  harness  upon  the  cars.  The  horses 
were  loaded  on  cars  which  were  in  waiting  at  the  yards  and  drawn 
to  the  depot,  where  the  train  was  soon  in  readiness  to  start,  with  a 
passenger  car  attached  for  the  accommodation  of  the  men.  This 
was  a  decided  improvement  on  the  box  car  in  which  they  were 
confined  on  the  journey  north.  The  return  trip  was  made  byway 
of  Dayton  and  Hamilton,  while  the  up  trip  had  been  via  Xenia 
and  Springfield. 

Reaching  Cincinnati  at  10.30  in  the  evening,  the  men  unloaded 
the  horses,  mounted  them  and  rode  to  camp,  leaving  the  harness 
at  the  depot  to  be  hauled  to  camp  by  the  wagons  in  the  morning. 
It  was  midnight  when  they  arrived.  Here  they  rejoined  the  men 
who  were  on  their  backs  with  chills  and  fever  when  they  left  a  few 
days  before  The  guns  had  been  taken  out  into  Covington  and 
posted  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  for  a  scare  had  been  created 
after  the  battery  left  by  a  report  put  in  circulation  that  the  seces 
sion  element  of  the  town,  which  was  quite  strong  there,  intended 
to  free  the  Confederate  prisoners  confined  in  the  barracks,  simul 
taneously  with  the  expected  attack  on  Johnson's  Island.  Every 
available  soldier  was  impressed  for  this  service,  including  the  sick 
men  who  were  able  to  walk  and  had  been  left  back  in  the  battery 
camj).  It  required  three  teams  to  haul  the  harness  from  Cincin 
nati  to  camp  the  next  morning.  A  new  lot  of  horses  was  drawn 
from  the  Government  corrall  and  added  to  the  force  on  hand,  so 
that  nearly  every  man  had  a  pair  of  horses  to  care  for.  This  was 
not  a  pleasant  duty  to  perform,  as  the  horses  were  tied  to  a  picket 
rope  and  exposed  to  the  weather. 


164  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
COVINGTON   BARRACKS. 

THE  regiment  of  cavalry  which  occupied  the  barracks  near  the 
camp  had  left  when  the  battery  returned  from  Johnson's 
Island,  and  the  buildings  were  now  empty.  Each  ward  was 
constructed  to  accommodate  one  hundred  men,  and  there  were 
ten  of  them.  The  battery  men  were  set  to  work  at  cleaning  one 
ward,  into  which  they  moved  on  the  i9th,  the  horses  and  guns 
being  placed  in  close  proximity,  but  without  shelter.  There  were 
but  about  fifty  men  with  the  battery,  so  there  was  plenty  of  room 
for  them  in  the  ward,  which  was  provided  with  two  large  wood- 
stoves,  benches  and  bunks.  Within  its  enclosure  the  men  con 
templated  the  coming  rigors  of  winter  with  a  degree  of  indifference 
that  would  not  have  been  possible  in  "dog  tents,"  or  even  under 
tarpaulins. 

Sergeant   Andrews,    writing   from    the    Seminary  Hospital,  at 
Covington,  on  November  23rd,  said  : 

'*  Matters  appear  to  he  jogging  along  in  our  'penitentiary'  after  old  style. 
Bluejackets  adorn  the  entrances,  both  front  and  rear — always  with  the  cruel 
bayonet — the  same  rigid  system  of  espionage  is  kept  up,  the  efforts  of  which  are 
occasionally  repaid  by  taking  off  some  poor  unfortunate's  trousers.  Running 
the  blockade,  or  taking  the  fence,  is  the  order  of  the  day,  and  rarely  is  one 
caught,  although  the  staff  are  sharply  on  the  watch.  When  we  ask  for  passes 
to  go  out  and  do  some  little  shopping  matters,  the  reply  is,  '  We  can  attend  to 
all  such  for  you.' 

"  The  men,  before  the  present  surgeon  took  charge,  were  accustomed  to 
play  cards,  checkers,  etc.,  in  the  wards,  but  Dr.  Marsh  soon  put  a  stop  to  this, 
and  does  not  allow  it,  on  account  of  the  noise  made  by  the  men.  We  are 
deprived  of  our  gas  in  the  evening,  so  that  we  can  neither  read  nor  write.  To 
remedy  this,  our  chaplain  took  the  matter  in  hand,  and  has  persuaded  the  doctor 
to  yield  him  a  ward,  at  the  time  vacant,  to  be  fitted  up  for  a  smoking  and  read 
ing  room.  Rather  a  miserable  place  for  one  to  read  or  write,  when  there  are 
lots  of  men  playing  cards  and  such  like.  The  chaplain  begged  funds  for  the 
purchase  of  timber,  needed  for  tables,  chairs,  etc.  It  will  be  used  during  the 
week  by  the  men,  and  on  Sunday  afternoon  by  him  for  preaching.  He  has  a 
portion  of  the  room  fenced  off  for  his  quarters,  to  keep  the  boys  in  order.  A 
happy  time  he  will  have  of  it  in  them,  writing  his  sermons.  He  is  the  busiest 
fellow  about  the  institution,  and,  in  truth,  a  very  fine  man." 

A  guidon,  the  gift  of  ladies  of  Bucks  County,  was  received"  on 
the  23rd.  The  flag  which  had  hitherto  been  carried  by  the  battery 


THE   FIRST  GUIDON 


COVINGTON  BARRACKS.  165 

was  a  gift  from  the  citizens  of  Reading,  and  was  very  much  tat 
tered  and  torn  by  service.  The  new  one  was  a  beautiful  and 
timely  testimonial  from  friends  at  home,  and  was  highly  appreci 
ated  by  the  men  of  the  battery,  who  at  once  concluded  that  it 
should  be  received  with  the  formality  and  honor  which  it  deserved. 
Accordingly  a  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  electing  the  following 
named  officers  :  President,  Lieutenant  George  W.  Silvis  ;  Vice- 
Presidents,  Sergeant  Henry  Sailor,  Corporal  B.  Frank  Bender  and 
Bugler  Joseph  M.  Cuffel  ;  Corresponding  Secretary,  James  L. 
Mast.  Charles  A.  Cuffel  then  presented  the  flag  in  the  following 
words  : 

"  COMRADES  :  I  have  been  called  upon  to  present  to  you  this  beautiful  flag 
which  I  hold  before  you,  in  behalf  of  the  ladies  of  Bucks  County.  They  assure 
us  that  they  appreciate  the  efforts  which  we  have  made  towards  crushing  the 
wicked  rebellion  by  presenting  us  with  this  beautiful  emblem  of  our  National 
liberty.  May  our  work  and  conduct  be  such  in  the  future  that  its  folds  may 
not  be  disgraced  by  any  act  of  ours,  but  that  it  may  be  carried  triumphantly 
through  all  engagements  in  which  it  may  be  our  duty  to  participate." 

Lieutenant  Christopher  Leoser  received  it  on  behalf  of  the 
battery  with  an  appropriate  address,  in  which  he  assured  the  kind 
friends  of  Bucks  County  that  it  would  be  upheld  and  honored  in 
any  emergency. 

After  the  presentation,  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed, 
consisting  of  Quartermaster  Azariah  Ratz,  Corporal  I.  Carey  Car 
ver,  Bugler  James  S.  Rich,  Ensign  William  S.  McNair  and  Adley 
B.  Lawrence,  to  draft  resolutions  expressive  of  the  thanks  of  the 
battery  to  the  donors  of  the  standard,  who  offered  the  following 
resolutions  which  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  "That  some  recognition  of  the  kindness  of  those  who  have  not 
forgotten  us  in  our  absence  is  due,  therefore, 

Resolved,  "That  not  only  because  it  is  due,  do  we  return  our  warmest 
thanks  for  the  beautiful  flag  which  you  have  sent  us,  but  our  hearts  respond 
with  pride  and  gratification  to  your  flattering  acknowledgment  of  our  services. 
We  thank  you  for  the  flag  ;  for  your  sympathy  with  us  and  the  cause  for  which 
we  are  battling,  and  for  the  assurance  which  your  gift  gives  us  that  you  still 
hold  us  in  memory,  and  that  warm  hearts  and  rosy  lips  will  not  be  wanting 
to  welcome  our  return.  It  is  an  added  incentive  to  noble  deeds  for  us  to  re 
member  that  there  are  some  anxious  hearts  watching  our  career.  Let  us  trust 
that  our  future  will  show  better  than  mere  words  can,  that  your  welcome  gift  is 
not  unappreciated,  and  that  if  in  the  past  we  have  not  disgraced  our  homes 
and  friends,  in  the  time  to  come  our  conduct  may  be  still  more  worthy  of 
your  approbation. 

Resolved,  "  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  each  of  the  Bucks, 
Berks  and  Chester  County  papers  for  publication." 


i66  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  inscription  upon  the  staff  of  the  ten  engagements  in 
which  the  battery  took  part  was  well  executed.  The  meeting  ad 
journed  with  three  cheers  for  the  donors  of  the  flag. 

Thanksgiving  day  fell  on  the  26th,  which  most  of  the  men 
observed  by  attending  religious  services  in  Covington  churches. 
The  new  horses  recently  drawn  were  ordered  to  be  returned  to  the 
government  corrall.  The  weather  turned  cold  on  the  28th,  com 
pelling  the  men  to  stick  close  to  the  camp-fires,  and  snow  fell  on 
the  29th.  Pleasant  weather  returned  on  December  3rd,  when  the 
pieces  and  caissons  were  washed  and  repainted,  the  harness  repaired 
and  oiled,  aid  the  ammunition  chests  repacked. 

Captain  Durell  was  still  in  Philadelphia  drilling  conscripts.  It 
was  rumored  in  camp  that  he  would  not  return  until  February,  as 
he  must  await  the  next  draft  before  he  could  obtain  the  men  he 
needed.  General  Burnside  was  not  getting  any  help  from  his 
"  second-best  battery  "  in  his  troubles  in  Tennessee.  (Benjamin's 
battery  of  Regulars  held  first  place.)  Had  the  battery  possessed 
men  enough  to  ride  the  horses  when  sent  for,  it  would  have  been 
with  him  at  the  siege  of  Knoxville,  to  add  another  to  its  list  of  bat 
tles,  which  the  Ninth  Corps  fought  with  its  old  adversary,  General 
Longstreet.  It  seemed  to  be  Longstreet's  fate  to  meet  the  Ninth 
Corps  for  it  fought  him  at  Bull  Run,  Chantilly,  South  Mountain, 
Anlietaiii,  Lordon,  Campbell's  Station,  Knoxville,  and  afterwards 
at  Elaine's  Cross  Roads,  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor,  Ream's  Sta 
tion,  Yellow  Tavern  and  indeed  almost  everywhere  along  the  line 
at  Petersburg. 

On  the  5th  Samuel  F.  Quinter,  at  time  of  enlistment  from 
Berks  County,  who  had  deserted  the  battery  while  travelling  by 
rail  from  Baltimore  to  Kentucky  in  the  previous  spring,  returned 
under  the  amnesty  proclamation  of  President  Lincoln,  which  gave 
full  pardon  to  all  deserters  who  returned  to  their  commands.  He 
had  enlisted  in  the  battery  but  a  few  months  before  his  desertion. 
The  ardor  to  re- enlist  was  first  manifested  on  the  8th,  when 
Sergeant  Henry  Sailor,  James  L.  Mast  and  a  number  of  others  de 
cided  to  enlist  again  for  three  years  or  during  the  war.  The  in 
ducements  offered  were  a  thirty-days  furlough,  $300  United  States 
Government  bounty,  and  $400  bounty  paid  by  their  county,  as 
well  as  the  desire  to  see  the  fight  to  a  finish.  Orderly  Sergeant 
Andrews,  Charles  C.  Berg,  Elias  K.  Cooper,  Jacob  Franks  and 
Cyrus  Davidhyser  returned  to  duty  from  hospital  on  the  same  day. 


COVINGTON  BARRACKS.  167 

On  the  1 5th  all  of  the  horses  were  turned  into  the  govern 
ment  stable,  with  the  exception  of  those  used  for  the  three  baggage 
wagons,  the  ambulance  and  a  few  saddle  horses,  which  were  kept 
in  a  neighboring  stable.  It  was  a  wise  arrangement  for  both  horses 
and  men,  for  the  weather  had  been  wet  and  cold  for  some  time, 
and  animals  tied  to  the  picket -rope  were  without  any  shelter  what 
ever,  standing  in  mud  knee  deep  and  shivering  with  cold  as  the 
men  did  when  a  shake  of  chills  was  on  them. 

Christmas  day  came,  and  with  it  the  cheer  of  the  season  in 
the  form  of  boxes  containing  clothes,  eatables,  etc.,  from  the  homes 
of  a  number  of  the  men.  The  government  dinner  on  that  day 
consisted  of  roast  beef  and  mashed  potatoes.  After  the  meal  was 
eaten  the  camp  was  visited  by  three  ladies  from  the  Sanitary  Com 
mission,  who  brought  with  them  an  ambulance  loaded  with  roast 
turkeys,  mince  pies,  doughnuts,  fruit  cake  and  apples,  which  they 
distributed  among  the  men.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  soldiers 
regarded  this  call  of  the  ladies  as  a  visit  of  angels.  All  the  men, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  who  had  guard  or  other  duties  to  per 
form  were  given  permission  to  leave  camp,  of  which  most  of  them 
took  advantage  in  the  afternoon  to  attend  the  great  sanitary  fair  in 
Cincinnati,  which  was  opened  on  the  2ist  and  continued  until 
January  yth. 

A  large  number  of  bounty  men  were  brought  over  on  the  28th 
and  confined  in  two  of  the  adjoining  wards  of  the  barracks,  which 
required  a  strong  detail  of  the  battery  to  guard,  for  the  most  of 
them  were  thought  to  be  "  bounty  jumpers."  They  were,  how 
ever,  hurried  on  toward  the  front  the  next  day,  a  welcome  relief  to 
the  artillerists,  who  preferred  to  go  into  an  engagement  with  the 
enemy  rather  than  guard  such  a  rabble  as  they  were.  They  had 
plenty  of  money,  paid  high  prices  for  all  sorts  of  delicacies,  and 
attempted  to  bribe  the  guard  for  their  freedom. 


1 68  DURELL'R  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

VETERANIZING. 

THE  new  year  of  1864  was  ushered  in  with  excessively  cold 
weather  which  continued  for  ten  days.  The  Ohio  River 
was  frozen  over  and  the  ferry  boats  were  unable  to  run 
across  to  Cincinnati.  Snow  to  the  depth  of  a  foot  covered  the 
ground.  Much  snow  was  blown  through  the  cracks  of  the  roof  and 
sides  of  the  barracks  in  which  the  artillerists  were  quartered,  and 
it  was  impossible  to  keep  the  large,  barn  like  building  comfortably 
warm,  although  the  stoves  were  fired  to  their  full  capacity.  The 
log  huts  which  the  men  had  enjoyed  while  at  Fredericksburg  the 
winter  previous  were  much  more  comfortable  quarters  than  those 
they  now  occupied.  There  was  good  sleighing.  The  citizens  of 
Covington  and  Cincinnati  were  out  in  large  numbers  enjoying  the 
sport.  One  of  the  batten  men  who  returned  to  duty  just  after  the 
cold  spell  had  passed,  reported  that  the  weather  at  home  had  not 
been  near  so  severe  as  it  was  at  Covington. 

On  the  8th  the  men  were  ordered  to  brush  up  for  parade  and 
were  marched  to  headquarters  to  witness  the  shooting  of  a  deserter, 
but  a  reprieve  arrived  at  the  last  moment,  and  the  man's  life  was 
spared. 

Among  the  detachments  of  recruits  which  were  continually 
passing  through  on  the  way  to  the  front,  was  discovered  a  female 
soldier  quartered  in  an  adjoining  ward  of  the  barracks  This  cre 
ated  a  great  sensation  in  camp  Her  soldier  career  in  the  barracks 
was  cut  short  when  her  identity  was  made  known  to  the  officers  at 
headquarters,  and  she  was  given  an  unceremonious  and  dishonor 
able  discharge. 

The  6th  New  Hampshire,  a  Ninth  Corps  regiment,  arrived  at 
the  barracks  from  Knoxville  on  the  iSth,  on  the  way  home  on  their 
veteran  furlough.  It  was  the  advance  regiment  of  almost  the  entire 
corps,  which  soon  followed  on  the  same  mission.  The  79th  New 
York  (Scotch  Highlanders),  which  had  but  little  more  than  two 
months  to  complete  its  three  years'  term,  was  the  only  regiment  of 
the  corps  that  did  not  re-enlist  The  men  of  that  icgiment  con 
cluded  that  there  would  be  ample  opportunity  to  re-enter  the  army 


VETERANIZING.  169 

after  their  term  had  expired.  The  corps,  under  command  of 
General  Burnside,  had  just  ended  a  hard  campaign  in  carrying  out 
President  Lincoln's  desire  to  rescue  the  loyal  people  of  East  Ten 
nessee  from  Confederate  domination.  For  a  time,  during  the 
siege  of  Knoxville,  the  troops  were  marched  to  heaps  of  corn, 
where  each  man  received  three  ears  for  a  day's  ration.  This  they 
pounded  or  ground  and  cooked  into  a  condition  to  eat,  as  best 
they  could. 

The  conditions  of  the  order  for  re- enlistments  provided  that  if 
two-thirds  of  the  men  of  a  command  re-enlisted,  the  organization 
was  to  be  maintained  for  another  term  of  three  years  or  during  the 
war,  the  re-enlisted  men  to  be  at  once  mustered  out  of  the  old 
term  and  sworn  into  the  new.  The  veteran  was  entitled  to  a 
cheveron  on  the  front  part  of  the  coat  sleeve,  extending  from  a 
point  two  inches  below  the  elbow  to  the  sleeve  buttons.  Many  of 
the  Ninth  Corps  regiments  re-enlisted  in  excess  of  the  two-thirds 
requirement. 

The  process  of  veteranizing,  which  had  begun  in  the  battery 
on  the  8th  of  December,  was  now  progressing.  The  Orderly 
Sergeant's  journal,  under  date  of  February  n,  says  : 

"  We  shipped  our  third  squad  of  veterans  over  the  river  this  afternoon,  to 
he  mustered  out  of  service  and  immediately  into  it  again  for  another  three  years' 
weary  time.  I  feel  very  much  relieved  that  they  are  off  my  hands,  for  they  have 
pestered  me  much  by  day,  and  disturbed  my  dreams  by  night.  After  I  had  com 
pleted  my  rolls  last  night,  as  I  supposed,  and  was  about  closing  up  for  the 
occasion,  orders  came  to  add  three  more  names,  and  another  was  on  hand. 
They  take  the  re-enlisting  disease  about  the  same  way  the  old  jerkers  used  to 
.catch  their  shakes.  This  was  the  largest  squad  of  the  three  that  have  as  yet 
entered  the  new  arrangement,  there  being  twenty-four  men  in  this  one  and  only 
eight  in  each  of  the  others,  making  forty  men  in  the  three  parties.  There  are 
twenty  men  as  yet  needed  to  make  up  their  two-thirds  -  perhaps  they  may  be 
gained,  but  i  think  it  very  doubtful. 

"  Those  who  have  acquaintances  in  the  town  generally  go  out  to  spend 
their  evenings  with  them,  but  as  I  have  none  I  stay  within  doors  From  the 
information  I  have  received  from  those  posted  in  such  matters,  the  society  of 
Covington  is  none  of  the  best,  except  that  of  the  very  upper  tendom,  and  that 
is  particularly  exclusive,  those  of  a  lower  grade  not  even  daring  to  look  at  them. 
We  have  not  as  much  sickness  amongst  us  as  at  some  time  back.  We  discov 
ered  that  the  water  we  were  using  was  very  filthy,  and  possibly  aided  in  pro 
ducing  and  sustaining  and  fattening  our  sicknesses.  We  are  now  using  the  water 
from  the  Ohio  River,  and  I  think  that  already  we  are  experiencing  good  effects 
from  it.  The  old  place  was  a  large  pond  near  a  small  grave  yard  a  mile  or  so 
beyond  us.  It  has  been  used  to  water  mules  from  the  government  stables. 
They  were  driven  out  every  day  and  stired  up  the  mire  nicely,  as  we  never  had 
any  clear  water  from  that  puddle.  The  water  around  here  is  very  poor,  and  to 


iy°  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

it,  I  think,  is  due  a  great  portion  of  the  sickness  the  people  around  here  are 
afflicted  with.  I  understood  to-day  that  Cincinnati  is  now  visited  with  that 
loathsome  disease,  the  small-pox,  and  that  a  case  or  so  has  been  discovered  in 
Covington.  It  has  been  prevalent  to  a  small  extent  all  along  among  the  sol 
diery,  the  hospital  generally  having  twelve  or  fifteen  cases  in  it. 

"  Some  of  the  men  have  just  been  in  to  inform  me  that  there  is  another 
squad  about  to  re-enlist,  and  that  I  must  be  at  it  again  to-morrow  to  fix  them 
out ;  and  that  the  lieutenant  had  remarked  he  would  apply  to  take  the  men 
home  as  a  company  and  for  orders  to  transfer  the  remainder  of  us  to  some  other 
company  for  the  balance  of  our  time.  Quite  a  commotion  was  stirred  up  among 
the  crowd  sitting  around  ;  some  for  the  change,  others  against  it.  Poor  Silvis, 
or  whoever  the  lieutenant  was,  caught  it,  I  can  tell  you.  If  the  poor  man  is  able 
to  sleep  to-night  with  the  weight  of  the  maledictions  and  anathemas  that  were 
hurled  upon  his  head,  he  is  impregnable  to  shell. 

"  All  the  scare  was  about  six  men,  who  have  had  their  names  already  upon 
two  former  lists  and  '  flunked  out.'  Besides,  six  men  are  not  twenty.  How  is 
it  that  we  see  no  account  of  Bucks  County  giving  any  bounty  or  attempting  in 
any  way  to  shield  herself  from  the  draft  ?  Our  Bucks  County  boys,  who  have 
re- enlisted,  would  have  preferred  being  credited  to  her,  but  went  where  the 
most  bounty  was  to  be  had.  The  whole  of  to-day's  squad  of  twenty-four  men, 
were  credited  to  Chester  County  and  go  in  a  body  to  West  Chester,  to  be  placed 
on  the  books  and  claim  their  $400  bounty.  Ten  of  them  were  from  Bucks 
County.  Thus  we  have  lost,  in  that  way,  ten  men  from  our  quota." 

Another  cold  snap  occurred  on  the  22nd,  almost  as  severe  as 
that  experienced  at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  Washington's 
Birthday  was  celebrated  over  in  Cincinnati  by  a  military  parade  of 
six  regiments  of  the  returned  veterans  of  the  city  and  surrounding 
country,  and  salutes  were  fired  from  the  forts  on  the  hills.  Many 
of  the  batterymen  went  over  to  see  the  attractions. 

Orders  for  the  re-enlisted  men  to  start  for  their  homes  were 
belated  by  vexatious  delays,  but  they  finally  came  on  the  25th, 
when  the  veterans  bid  good-bye  to  the  remaining  comrades  and 
took  a  train  at  Cincinnati  for  Harrisburg,  arriving  early  on  the  27th. 
There  the  furloughs  and  transportation  were  issued  to  the  men  by 
Lieutenant  Silvis,  who  had  command  of  the  squad,  after  which 
they  separated  and  proceeded  in  different  directions  to  their  homes. 

While  at  home  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  furloughs,  the  men 
who  had  been  left  at  Covington,  in  command  of  Lieutenant  Leoser, 
were  ordered  to  Annapolis,  Md. ,  where  General  Burnside  was 
rendezvousing  the  Ninth  Army  Corps  for  reorganization.  Sergeant 
Andrew's  journal  gives  the  following  account  of  their  journey  : 

"  On  Saturday,  March  iQth,  a  telegram  was  received  from  corps  head 
quarters  at  New  York,  ordering  us  to  report  at  Annapolis  immediately.  This 
being  received  late  in  the  day,  no  preparations  for  our  transportation  could  be 
made,  as  all  the  government  offices  were  closed,  and  would  be  on  Sunday  also. 


VETERANIZING.  171 

On  Wednesday  the  2 1st,  the  government  officials  did  not  appear  to  be  inclined 
to  red-tape,  and  had  transportation  ready  for  us  before  we  were  ready.  At  12 
M.  we  received  orders  to  pack  up  and  be  ready  to  move  from  camp  at  I  P.  M. 
Such  another  glorious  confusion  you  never  saw.  The  trash  and  rubbish  that  had 
accumulated  in  the  past  six  months  must  be  abandoned,  and  was  greedily  seized 
by  the  women  and  children,  who  were  on  hand  for  the  leavings,  like  buzzards 
having  received  the  scent  almost  before  we  knew  anything  of  it.  Having  only 
twenty  horses,  and  those  saddle  and  wagon  horses,  we  made  a  requisition  on  the 
post  quartermaster  for  his  wagon  teams  to  draw  us  across  the  river,  which  were 
on  hand  at  the  appointed  time.  By  6  P.  M.  we  were  loaded  and  on  our  road 
to  Columbus  ;  not  the  most  comfortably  fixed  at  that,  as  we  were  furnished  with 
but  one  passenger  car,  and  that  would  barely  seat  fifty  of  us  ;  the  result  being 
that  a  few  were  compelled  to  stand  or  take  a  lowly  position  by  stretching  them 
selves  out  on  the  car  floor,  a  target  as  well  as  wiping  cloth  for  sundry  discharges 
of  tobacco  juice.  The  night  was  very  cold  ;  yet  we  managed  to  keep  warm 
enough.  Having  had  no  opportunity  to  obtain  any  supper  at  the  first  stopping 
place,  we  made  a  descent  on  their  saloons,  and  purchased  a  dear  bite  and  some 
villainous  coffee.  This  being  gobbled  down  lest  the  train  should  leave,  we 
returned  to  our  car  and  had  plenty  of  time  to  chew  it  over  before  our  horse  gave 
any  indication  of  moving  on.  Our  progress  was  rather  slow,  having  to  run 
between  trains  when  we  could  get  the  right  of  way. 

March  22nd. — "  Daylight  this  morning  caught  us  standing  on  the  track  at  a 
place  called  Jefferson,  waiting  for  three  down  trains.  Here  we  were  delayed 
for  some  two  hours  or  more,  and  I  nearly  froze,  the  air  being  so  keen.  Having 
a  ravenous  appetite,  a  piece  of  fat  pork,  accompanied  by  some  dirty  bread, 
speedily  disappeared,  and  I  wished  for  more,  but  no  use.  We  reached  Col 
umbus  about  8.30  A.  M.,  and  were  switched  off  on  another  track,  given  a  new 
car  and  a  conductor's  caboose  to  ride  in,  which  latter  affair  was  very  comfort 
able,  being  furnished  with  good  cushioned  seats  and  a  roaring  stove.  About 
II  A.  M.  we  stopped  to  await  the  down  trains  from  the  east,  at  a  small  village 
of  about  three  houses,  a  small  church  and  an  establishment  that  gloried  in  the 
name  of  a  grocery.  A  dive  was  made  into  this  concern  for  something  to 
eat,  which  was  speedily  obtained,  that  appearing  to  be  about  all  the  goods  on 
hand.  The  conductor  and  railroad  hands  certainly  had  had  a  seat  in  the  North 
Carolina  Assembly,  by  the  expert  way  in  which  they  could  throw  out  the  shells, 
eating  peanuts  being  said  to  be  the  duties  of  that  august  body.  About  noon  we 
reached  the  town  of  Newark,  changed  engines  and  were  soon  off,  the  move 
ment  apparently  made  to  keep  us  from  getting  a  mouthful  to  eat,  as  we  stopped 
about  a  mile  from  the  depot  for  an  hour  or  so.  From  this  point  our  journey 
was  very  rapid,  making  the  enormous  distance  of  eight  miles  in  six  hours.  The 
water  being  drawn  from  the  canal  from  which  the  tanks  were  filled,  water 
must  be  carried  in  buckets  for  the  engines,  which  delayed  us,  and  thereby  we 
lost  the  right  of  road,  and  were  compelled  to  wait  until  dark  before  we  had  a 
clear  track.  At  Newark  we  were  furnished  with  a  new  passenger  car,  that  is  a 
second  one.  As  to  being  new,  it  may  have  been  so  once,  but  not  at  this  '  pre 
sent  juncture.'  At  any  rate  it  was  comfortable  there  being  plenty  of  room  in 
it  for  ten  of  us,  with  a  good  hot  stove  to  boot.  Being  hungry  the  conductor  tele 
graphed  and  ordered  supper  for  forty  of  us,  to  be  ready  at  Coshocton.  We 
reached  there  about  8  P.  M.,  and  did  right  good  service  to  the  meal.  No  one 


172  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

had  any  time,  let  alone  inclination,  to  talk,  as  we  had  too  much  before  us  to  be 
devoured.  So  quiet  were  the  men,  that  the  conductor  gave  them  the  name  of 
the  'Presbyterian  battery.'  After  this  I  cannot  say  what  happened  during  the 
remainder  of  the  night,  for  when  I  awoke  about  daylight  we  were  switching  off 
for  Steubenville. 

March  2jrd.  — "  It  was  about  6  A.  M.,  when  we  stopped  in  the  town, 
and  having  performed  our  morning  ablutions,  I  made  hunt  for  something  to 
eat.  I  was  recommended  to  the  best  hotel  in  the  town,  about  half  a  mile  off, 
and  thitherward  I  traveled.  The  meal  did  not  pay  for  the  shoe  leather  worn  out 
in  going  there,  the  food  being  dreadfully  scarce  and  the  meat  awfully  tough.  Just 
think  of  one  fried  egg  and  one  biscuit  set  down  between  two  hungry  soldiers, 
and  very  little  prospect  for  more.  In  just  such  piece-meal  bits  did  we  manage 
our  breakfast.  The  rule  of  the  hotel  evidently  was  '  nothing  to  eat,'  and  an  at 
tempt  at  very  much  style,  in  which  they  most  signally  failed.  Our  battery  was 
quite  an  object  of  attraction,  persons  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  town  to  take 
a  look  at  it.  I  concluded  I  would  take  a  walk  down  and  see  the  great  female 
seminary  that  I  had  heard  so  much  of.  I  did  not  venture  in  as  it  was  the  last 
day  of  school,  and  hoops  and  trunks  were  being  huddled  in  every  direction.  At 
any  rate,  I  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  the  proprietor  of  the  school.  At 
II  o'clock  we  moved  off  to  the  main  road  to  await  our  engine,  which  was  not 
up  to  time.  A  few  of  us  getting  hungry,  waited  on  an  Irish  lady  living  near 
the  road  and  bargained  for  something  to  eat.  Whilst  in  here  our  train  went  off 
without  any  warning  and  left  us  behind.  A  freight  train  soon  came  along  and 
we  again  stopped  at  Steubenville  and  awaited  the  mail  train  for  Pittsburg.  We 
were  just  in  the  right  time,  as  the  young  misses  were  at  the  station  as  thick  as 
bees,  and  we  had  a  good  look  at  them.  Some  were  rather  good  looking,  others 
ugly  enough  ;  and  a  few,  I  suppose  had  their  diplomas  for  all  the  ornamental 
branches  of  modern  society,  for  they  could  swear  a  little.  We  passed  the  bat 
tery  about  fourteen  miles  up  the  river  and  reached  Pittsburg  at  8.30  P.  M., 
where  we  awaited  it. 

March  24th. — "The  battery  came  in  after  midnight,  and  we  laid  quiet 
until  about  8  A.  M.,  when  we  commenced  changing  it  on  other  cars.  About 
noon  we  were  off,  and  as  it  was  rather  a  fine  day  I  took  position  on  one  of  the 
guns  so  as  to  view  the  country,  and  was  well  blackened  with  coal  dust  and  smoke 
for  my  trouble.  I  must  certainly  have  been  well  begrimed,  as  a  youngster, 
with  finger  pointed  at  me,  bawled  out,  '  Oh  !  look  at  that  nigger.'  Nothing  of 
moment  transpired  on  this  route,  except  that  we  lost  precious  little  time  reach 
ing  Altoona,  on  this  side  of  the  mountain,  about  2  A.  M.  of  March  25th.  I 
was  in  hopes  that  we  would  cross  the  mountain  in  day  time  ;  as  it  was,  how 
ever,  we  passed  them  before  daylight.  Having  a  box  car,  I  spent  the  day  in 
stretching  out  at  full  length  and  sleeping,  as  it  was  too  cold  and  rainy  to  go  out 
side.  A  little  after  noon  rain  and  snow  commenced  falling,  making  everything 
nicely  disagreeable.  By  the  time  we  reached  Harrisburg  it  was  storming  hard. 
We  arrived  at  York  about  dusk,  but  had  little  opportunity  to  buy  anything  to 
eat,  except  of  the  peddler  women,  as  we  were  told  that  we  would  be  there  but 
a  short  time.  Along  the  whole  route  this  seemed  to  be  the  rule  ;  where  we 
could  obtain  meals  we  either  did  not  stop  or  were  told  that  we  had  no  time  to 
get  them,  and  invariably  would  stop  for  a  long  period  where  nothing  could  be 
obtained.  The  storm  still  continued  increasing  in  fury,  and  by  the  time  we 


VETERANIZING.  173 

reached  Baltimore  it  was  coming  down  with  a  vengeance.  From  the  cars  in 
Baltimore  we  marched  to  the  'Soldiers'  Rest,'  and,  stored  into  the  second  story 
of  the  lousy  establishment,  minus  fire,  already  rilled  with  troops,  trying  to  sleep 
and  loafing  around  until  breakfast  time. 

March  s6th — "  The  rain  still  continues  pouring  down  in  torrents.  After 
partaking  of  the  beef  Noah  took  into  the  Ark  among  the  ship's  stores  of  that 
famous  vessel,  and  swallowing  sundry  pieces  of  very  sour  bread,  washed  down 
by  very  villainous  coffee,  all  at  the  expense  of  the  'Rest,'  we  moved  to  the 
depot  to  wander  about  in  the  rain  until  noon,  when  we  again  moved  off.  This 
portion  of  our  route  from  Baltimore  was  the  most  disagreeable  we  had.  We 
were  penned  up  in  second-class  hog-cars,  without  glass  or  sash  in  the  window 
holes,  portions  of  the  weather-boarding  gone  and  the  floor  badly  dilapidated, 
one  stove  and  no  wood  being  the  allowance  for  the  two  cars.  A  man  with  the 
dyspepsia  could  have  had  his  stomach  well  settled  by  the  rough  riding,  and  a 
water-cure  man  been  rendered  jubilant  by  the  copious  supply  of  rain  falling.  Two 
hours'  riding  through  the  miserable  swampy  country  of  '  My  Maryland  '  brought 
us  to  the  camp  for  paroled  prisoners,  about  two  miles  and  a  half  from  Annapolis. 
The  rain  was  pouring  down  in  torrents,  and  very  cold  at  that.  We  were  run 
into  the  camp  on  a  switch,  and  awaited  the  return  of  the  lieutenant  from  Annap 
olis,  whither  he  had  gone  to  find  some  one  to  whom  to  report  our  presence.  He 
went  down  on  the  engine,  and  was  compelled  to  return  on  foot  through  mud 
and  rain.  Towards  evening  we  gathered  up  our  movables  and  took  possession 
of  a  vacant  barrack,  and  made  preparations  to  pass  the  night.  It  was  rather  a 
cheerless  place,  with  no  stove  in  it  and  the  floor  disgustingly  filthy.  The  party 
who  had  previously  occupied  it  most  certainly  were  proficient  models  of  nastiness. 
We  could  not  think  of  policing  that  night  ;  our  minds  were  bent  on  having  some 
hot  coffee  to  warm  us,  and  a  night's  rest.  There  being  no  opportunity  to  dry 
our  blankets  or  clothing,  we  rolled  in  wet  and  left  the  drying  to  natural  heat. 
I  slept  good  and  comfortable,  and  had  no  cause  to  complain.  The  rain  con 
tinued  pouring  down  the  whole  night  until  nearly  daylight.  The  day  following 
(Sunday),  the  sun  came  out  bright  and  clear,  and  gave  us  all  an  opportunity  to 
dry  our  clothing,  look  around  and  unload  the  battery.  The  camp  called  '  Camp 
Parole '  is  large,  and  contains  a  great  number  of  barracks,  capable  of  accommo 
dating,  I  should  imagine,  at  least  from  7, OCX)  to  8,000  troops.  They  are  large, 
well  ventilated  from  the  roof,  and  in  the  dampest  weather  can  be  kept  very  dry 
and  comfortable.  The  number  of  paroled  men  does  not  exceed  800  at  present. 
An  Ohio  regiment  is  doing  guard  duty  here  ;  that  duty  being  of  the  very  strictest 
kind.  The  looth  Regiment,  P.  V.,  is  lying  in  the  same  row  of  barracks  as  we, 
awaiting  a  camping  ground.  Not  having  been  accustomed  to  being  so  strictly 
watched  and  guarded  as  we  were  there,  we  became  very  anxious  to  change  our 
quarters,  which  we  did  on  Monday  afternoon.  We  pitched  our  tents  along  the 
line  of  the  railroad,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  further  away  from  Annapolis, 
to  be  able  to  obtain  water  for  ourselves  and  horses.  We  were  quartered  in  an 
old  cornfield  the  sand  being  so  loose  that  our  tent  pins  would  barely  sustain 
the  weight  of  the  tent.  We  are  furnished  with  very  good  tents,  the  same  kind 
as  we  occupied  at  Camp  Lacey.  On  Tuesday  we  again  changed  our  quarter?, 
moving  only  a  few  hundred  yards  to  a  much  better  piece  of  ground,  and  much 
nearer  to  the  springs.  Our  nearest  neighbors  are  a  couple  of  negro  regiments — 
the  29th  Connecticut  and  the  26th  New  York.  They  are  both  very  large  regi- 


174  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

ments,  numbering  about  iioo  men  each.  They  are  as  fine  a  looking  set  of 
darkies  as  can  be  scared  up  in  a  months'  travels  ;  all  young,  healthy  looking 
and  robust.  A  more  contented  and  happy  lot  of  mortals  you  cannot  find. 
They  are  always  in  an  uproar  ;  at  night  they  give  us  the  benefit  of  some  mag 
nificent  singing,  as  only  darkies  can  give  it.  They  are  neat  and  cleanly  in  ap 
pearance  and  by  no  means  impudent  or  impertinent.  There  is  quite  a  large 
number  of  them  every  day  over  in  our  camp.  We  are  to  have  20,000  of  them  in 
our  corps.  If  all  negro  regiments  are  as  fine  a  looking  body  of  men  and  as  well 
drilled  as  these  are,  no  man  need  be  ashamed  to  command  a  corps  of  them,  for 
I  think  they  will  fight  like  demons.  They  have  a  very  fine  band  in  one  of  the 
regiments.  The  worst  change  to  us  here  is  doing  without  fire,  having  had  such 
villainous  weather.  Rain  and  snow  or  slush  has  been  the  order  of  every  day  or 
night  and  very  cold  at  that,  being  scarcely  able  to  keep  warm  when  rolled  in 
our  blankets.  The  remaining  three  old  batteries  of  the  corps  are  now  here, 
but  without  horses  or  guns,  having  left  them  in  East  Tennessee.  We  are  the 
only  one  that  has  its  guns.  I  wish  we  could  have  turned  in  our  whole  battery 
and  drawn  everything  new  as  they  will  do.  But  few  of  the  old  regiments  of  the 
corps  are  as  yet  here  ;  those  remaining  during  the  winter  in  Tennessee  not  hav 
ing  come  up  as  yet.  If  reports  are  true  we  will  have  a  terrible  expedition  to 
move  from  this  place.  I  have  understood  there  are  to  be  fifty-six  regiments  of 
infantry,  sixteen  batteries  and  cavalry  in  proportion  ;  but  as  to  the  destination 
of  the  grand  caravan,  or  any  point  at  which  the  cages  will  be  opened  and  the 
animals  exhibited,  we  are  all  in  the  dark.  We  suppose  somebody  knows. 
Over  half  of  our  veterans  have  returned  ;  the  remainder  not  reporting  being 
considered  as  absent  without  leave.  We  also  have  thirty-four  new  men,  the 
majority  of  whom  have  seen  service  in  the  nine  months'  regiments.  They  come 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  and  will  make  good  soldiers,  as  they  are  all  young 
and  healthy." 


RECRUITED,   REFITTED  AND  REORGANIZED.  175 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
RECRUITED,   REFITTED  AND  REORGANIZED. 

BY  the  4th  of  April,  nearly  all  of  the  veterans  had  returned  to 
duty  at  the  camp  at  Annapolis,  and  enough  recruits  were 
received  to  fill  the  compliment  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men.  Foot  and  gun  drills  were  immediately  begun,  which  the 
recruits  rapidly  leained,  and  in  which  they  acquired  a  fair  degree 
of  proficiency,  under  the  example  and  tutelage  of  the  veterans. 

A  terrible  storm  burst  upon  the  camp  during  the  night  of  the 
9th,  and  John  Rightmyer,  from  Reading,  died  suddenly  the  next 
morning.  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  who  had  just  assumed  com 
mand  of  all  the  armies,  visited  the  camp  on  the  i3th  and  made 
an  inspection  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  just  as  they  were,  without  any 
previous  notification  of  his  coming.  Accompanied  by  General 
Burnside  and  two  officers  of  his  staff,  he  rode  through  the  camps, 
seeming  to  take  in  everything  at  a  glance.  The  cannoneers  were 
hastily  summoned  to  their  guns  and  fired  a  salute  as  he  approached. 

The  battery  received  marching  orders,  and  the  next  morning 
packed  up  at  5  o'clock  and  marched  to  the  railroad  station,  where, 
after  waiting  until  nearly  night,  cars  were  at  last  supplied,  upon 
which  the  artillery  and  horses  were  loaded.  The  baggage  wagons 
were  left  behind  to  bring  the  tents  and  other  camp  equipage  by 
wagon  road,  accompanied  by  a  detail  of  men  under  command  of 
Lieutenant  Leoser.  The  men  accompanying  the  battery,  under 
command  of  Lieutenant  Silvis,  were  provided  with  transportation 
in  freight  cars. 

The  train  arrived  in  Washington  at  3  o'clock  on  the  following 
morning.  At  daybreak  the  men  were  summoned  out  to  roll-call, 
after  which  they  were  marched  to  the  "Soldier's  Rest,"  and  re 
ceived  a  breakfast  of  pork,  bread  and  wretched  coffee.  The  bat 
tery  was  then  unloaded  from  the  cars,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
day  was  idled  away  at  the  depot  until  nearly  night,  when  the  com 
mand  was  marched  to  Camp  Marshall,  where  the  shelter,  or  "dog" 
tents,  were  first  introduced  to  the  battery.  They  were  issued  in 
such  small  numbers  that  two  pieces  of  the  canvas  had  to  suffice  for 
the  accommodation  of  three  men.  No  poles  came  with  the  can- 


176  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

vas,  so  the  men  placed  the  pieces  of  canvas  over  the  poles  of  the 
artillery  carriages,  and  suspended  them  to  the  wheels  or  any  available 
points  from  which  a  place  of  shelter  could  be  constructed.  Rain 
fell  during  the  night,  and  the  weather  on  the  day  following  was 
very  disagreeable.  A  detail  of  men  was  sent  to  the  woods  to  cut 
tent-poles,  after  which  there  was  some  order  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  camp.  On  the  iyth  the  tents  and  guns  were  moved  out  of  the 
mud  caused  by  frequent  rains. 

Captain  Durell  arrived  in  the  camp  on  the  i8th  and  was  re 
ceived  with  cheers  by  his  command.  He  had  been  a  long  time 
absent  on  recruiting  service,  and  his  directing  hand  was  needed  in 
the  reorganization  of  the  battery.  The  camp  was  moved  in  the 
afternoon  close  to  the  banks  of  the  Eastern  Branch,  the  horses 
from  a  neighboring  battery  being  detailed  to  help  in  the  moving, 
because  of  the  shortage  in  its  own  stock.  About  twenty-five  men 
had  gone  out  to  headquarters  after  a  requisition  for  new  horses, 
but  returned  without  them.  They  were,  however,  obtained  the 
next  day. 

The  battery  was  now  located  in  what  was  known  as  Camp 
Marshall,  situated  near  the  rear  of  Lincoln  Hospital.  It  was  a 
camp  of  artillery  instruction  under  command  of  Colonel  Brady,  an 
officer  of  the  regular  army,  and  a  strict  disciplinarian.  The  boys 
murmured  and  growled  considerably  under  the  orders  which  re 
quired  them  to  come  up  to  the  discipline  of  the  regular  service. 
The  colonel,  besides,  was  very  excitable  and  profane  when  any 
thing  came  under  his  eye  that  he  did  not  like.  Riding  up  to  the 
camp  on  one  occasion,  he  fumed  and  swore  at  the  guard  on  the 
beat  in  front  of  the  captain's  tent,  because  he  failed  to  see  the 
colonel  approaching  in  time  to  give  him  the  proper  salute.  Cap 
tain  Durell  stepped  out  of  his  tent  and  said  :  "  Colonel,  I  don't 
swear  at  my  men,  and  I  won't  allow  any  one  else  to  do  so."  The 
colonel  cooled  down  at  once,  knowing  full  well  that  he  had  viola 
ted  one  of  the  Articles  of  War  prohibiting  profanity.  The  camp 
was  visited  by  inspecting  officers  who  went  through  the  battery  and 
condemned  everything  that  was  not  in  first  class  order.  The  sur 
geons  also  made  a  thorough  inspection  of  the  camp  grounds,  tents 
and  clothing  of  the  men. 

Lieutenant  Leoser  arrived  from  Annapolis  on  the  23rd  with 
the  baggage  wagons  and  camp  equipage.  The  A-tents  were  put 
up  and  the  men  were  more  comfortably  quartered.  The  ranks 
were  now  pretty  well  filled,  but  a  few  of  the  men  had  not  yet  re- 


RECRUITED,   REFITTED  AND  REORGANIZED.  177 

turned  from  their  veteran  furlough,  one  of  whom,  Henry  Row,  was 
under  arrest  in  Philadelphia.  A  very  heavy  shower  of  rain  fell  on 
the  night  of  the  24th,  which  flooded  many  of  the  men  out  of  their 
tents.  There  were  indications  of  active  service  for  the  army  soon, 
such  as  the  receipt  of  orders  by  the  hospitals  to  provide  room  for 
15,000  men,  from  which  it  was  presumed  that  Grant  intended  to 
move  against  Lee  at  an  early  day. 

On  the  25th,  before  the  morning  drill,  the  promotions  on  the 
non-commissioned  staff  made  by  the  captain  in  the  reorganization, 
were  announced  to  the  company.  Two  lieutenants  were  also 
appointed  to  fill  vacancies.  The  new  lieutenants  were  both  from 
Berks  County  :  Samuel  H.  Rhoads,  veteran,  from  sixth  duty  ser 
geant  ;  Henry  Sailor,  veteran,  from  third  duty  sergeant.  Orderly 
Sergeant  William  P.  Andrews,  from  Bucks,  was  reduced  to  the 
ranks,  and  Harrison  G.  Bouse,  veteran,  from  Berks,  was  promoted 
to  the  place  from  first  duty  sergeant  ;  Quartermaster,  Azariah  L. 
Ratz,  from  Berks,  not  promoted,  not  re-enlisted  ;  First  Duty  Ser 
geant,  B.  Frank  Bender,  from  Chester  County,  promoted  from 
sixth  sergeant,  not  re-enlisted  ;  Second  Sergeant,  Samuel  K.  Whit- 
ner,  veteran,  from  Berks,  promoted  from  fifth  sergeant  ;  Third 
Sergeant,  John  O.  Burden,  from  Berks,  promoted  from  fourth  cor 
poral,  not  re-enlisted  ;  Fourth  Sergeant,  James  L.  Mast,  veteran, 
Berks  County,  from  ninth  corporal ;  Fifth  Sergeant,  Adley  B.  Law 
rence,  veteran,  Chester  County,  from  eleventh  corporal ;  Sixth 
Sergeant,  Abraham  D.  Blundin,  veteran,  Bucks  County,  from  sixth 
corporal. 

Corporals. — First,  Amos  Bechtel,  Berks  County,  from  fourth 
corporal,  not  re-enlisted  ;  Second,  Oliver  D.  Giffins,  Lehigh 
County,  from  fifth  corporal,  not  re-enlisted  ;  Third,  Robert  Conard, 
Bucks  County,  not  promoted,  not  re-enlisted  :  Fourth,  George  Hart, 
Berks  County,  veteran,  from  twelfth  corporal;  Fifth,  Mahlon  B. 
Buckman,  Bucks  County,  not  promoted,  re-enlisted  ;  Sixth, 
I.  Carey  Carver,  Bucks  County,  not  promoted,  not  re- enlisted  ; 
Seventh,  A.  J.  Schweimler,  veteran,  Berks  County,  from  private  ; 
Eighth,  Jacob  L.  Beam,  veteran,  Chester  County ;  Ninth,  Charles 
A.  Cuffel,  veteran,  Bucks  County,  from  private  ;  Tenth,  Henry  G. 
Graul,  veteran,  Berks  County,  from  private  ;  Eleventh,  Bertolette 
Y.  Yoder,  Berks  County,  from  private,  not  re-enlisted  ;  Twelfth, 
G.  Ross  Carver,  Bucks  County,  from  private,  not  re-enlisted. 

Buglers. — Joseph  M.  Cuffel,  veteran,  Bucks  County,  not  pro 
moted  ;  Benneville  Bertolette,  Berks  County,  recruit.  Company 
Clerk,  John  Shrade,  Berks  County,  recruit. 


1 78  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

On  the  same  day  the  Ninth  Army  Corps,  which  had  marched 
from  Annapolis,  passed  through  Washington  into  Virginia.  It  was 
an  army  in  itself,  numbering  about  thirty  thousand  men,  and  attracted 
almost  the  entire  population  of  the  city  to  Pennsylvania  Avenue  as 
the  long  column  passed  through  to  the  front.  General  Burnside, 
whose  headquarters  had  been  established  in  the  city  for  some  days, 
was  out  to  review  his  troops,  and  was  most  heartily  cheered  as  reg 
iment  after  regiment  passed  by.  The  battery  was  not  able  to  join 
the  corps,  not  yet  having  completed  its  outfit.  New  harness  was 
received  which  required  time  to  adjust  to  fit  the  horses,  and  new 
clothing  was  issued  to  the  men. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  the  battery  was  taken  to  the 
arsenal,  where  the  old  guns,  which  were  of  2-9/10  inches  calibre, 
were  turned  in  and  3-inch  Parrott  rifles  received  in  their  place. 
They  threw  the  Hotchkiss  ammunition,  and  adopting  the  3 -inch 
calibre  did  away  with  the  necessity  of  carrying  two  sizes  of  projec 
tiles  for  the  rifled  batteries  of  the  corps.  While  the  battery  was  at 
the  arsenal,  marching  orders  came  to  the  camp  and  the  men  who 
were  left  there  immediately  began  to  pack  up.  Returning  to  camp 
and  feeding  the  horses  everything  was  in  readiness  to  move  at  5 
o'clock,  when  the  command  marched  out  from  Camp  Marshall, 
glad  to  get  away  from  the  rigorous  command  of  Colonel  Brady. 

The  route  was  up  to  the  Capitol,  down  Pennsyvania  Avenue 
to  the  Long  Bridge  and  across  into  Virginia  to  Alexandria,  near 
the  suburbs  of  which  city  the  battery  parked  at  about  8  o'clock. 
Not  a  fence  or  tree  was  anywhere  near  to  provide  poles  and  pins 
for  the  tents,  so  the  tarpaulins  were  spread  upon  the  ground  for 
the  men  to  sleep  upon.  The  night  was  cold  and  the  bed  hard  and 
comfortless.  The  horses  were  hitched  to  the  battery  early  the  next 
morning,  but  it  did  not  move  until  n  o'clock  Two  men  were  to 
be  shot  in  a  camp  close  by,  but  orders  came  to  move  just  before 
the  execution  took  place.  One  of  them  had  deserted  to  the  enemy 
and  joined  a  band  of  guerillas,  and  the  other  one  had  jumped  sev 
eral  bounties.  The  escort  for  the  day  was  the  i4th  New  York 
Heavy  Artillery,  which  had  been  performing  garrison  duty  in  Fort 
Schuyler,  New  York  ;  but  the  militia  of  that  State  had  relieved 
them,  and  they  were  sent  to  the  front  in  the  capacity  of  infantry. 
The  regiment  was  dissatisfied  with  the  change,  and  complained 
that  they  were  badly  treated  in  being  debarred  from  the  branch  of 
service  for  which  they  had  enlisted.  The  weather  became  very 
hot  during  the  day,  and  many  men  of  the  regiment  threw  away 


RECRUITED,    REFITTED  AND  REORGANIZED.  179 

their  knapsacks  to  lighten  the  burden  they  were  carrying.  The 
roadside  was  strewn  with  overcoats,  pants,  blouses,  blankets,  shoes, 
boots,  etc.  The  battery  parked  near  Fairfax  at  dusk  and  the  men, 
being  very  much  fatigued,  did  not  pitch  their  tents,  but  slept  on 
the  tarpaulins,  as  on  the  previous  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3oth,  the  battery  marched  over  the 
same  road  it  had  traversed  on  two  former  occasions — to  Centreville 
and  Bristoe  Station.  The  country  was  even  more  desolate  and 
forsaken  now  than  it  was  before.  The  fences  were  all  gone,  much 
of  the  timber  had  been  cut  away,  and  few  buildings  were  left. 
Manassas,  which  had  once  boasted  of  about  a  dozen  houses,  had 
but  one  left,  and  Centreville  was  wiped  out,  so  far  as  buildings 
were  concerned.  The  camp  of  six  regiments  of  colored  troops 
attached  to  the  Fourth  Division,  recently  assigned  to  the  Ninth 
Corps,  was  passed  below  Manassas.  The  battery  encamped  for  the 
night  near  Bristoe  Station,  during  which  time  rain  fell  ;  but  the 
tents  were  up  and  the  men  were  sheltered  The  next  day  the 
march  was  resumed  to  Warrenton  Junction,  passing  over  the  scene 
of  the  battle  in  which  the  battery  was  engaged  on  August  27,  1862. 
It  went  into  camp  near  the  railroad.  Trains  loaded  with  stores 
and  troops  were  constantly  passing,  three  or  four  of  them  together, 
guarded  by  detachments  of  infantry,  to  protect  them  from  guerilla 
attacks. 


i So  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FROM  THE  RAPIDAN  TO  PETERSBURG. 

THE  battery  was  now  with  its  corps,  and  every  preparation 
was  made  for  an  advance  into  the  enemy's  country,  and 
for  the   battles  which  were  sure  to  follow  on  meeting  him. 
General   Burnside   had    printed    circulars    distributed    among    his 
troops,  which  advised  them  what  measures  to  adopt  for  the  preser 
vation  of  health  and  comfort  while  on  the  march  and  in  certain 
exigencies  of  battle,  and  especially  cautioned  them  not  to  straggle, 
which  would  make  them  liable  to  capture  and  confinement  in  the 
enemy's  prisons. 

General  Grant,  with  the  Second,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Army  Corps, 
crossed  the  Rapidan  on  May  4th.  His  official  report  says  : 

"General  Burnside,  with  the  Ninth  Corps,  was  left  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Rappahannock  River  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  holding  the  road  back  to  Bull 
Run,  with  instructions  not  to  move  until  he  received  notice  that  a  crossing  of 
the  Rapidan  was  secured,  but  to  move  promptly  as  soon  as  such  notice  was  re 
ceived.  This  crossing  he  was  apprised  of  on  the  afternoon  of  the  4th.  By  6 
o'clock  of  the  morning  of  the  6th,  he  was  leading  his  corps  into  action  near  the 
Wilderness  Tavern,  some  of  his  troops  having  marched  a  distance  of  over 
thirty  miles,  crossing  both  the  Rappahannock  and  Rapidan  Rivers.  Considering 
that  a  large  proportion,  probably  two-thirds  of  his  command,  was  composed  of 
new  troops,  unaccustomed  to  marches,  and  carrying  the  accoutrements  of  a 
soldier,  this  was  a  remarkable  march." 

In  the  reorganization  of  the  corps,  DurelPs  Battery  was  as 
signed  to  the  Fourth  Division,  which  was  composed  of  colored  troops 
from  the  Northern  States,  commanded  by  General  Ferrero.  This 
division  was  left  behind  to  convoy  the  supply  trains  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  which  were  many  miles  in  length.  The  division 
with  the  wagon  trains  followed  the  same  road  that  the  other 
divisions  of  the  corps  had  taken,  crossing  the  Rapidan  at  Germania 
Ford.  The  weather  was  hot,  compelling  the  marching  troops  to 
divest  themselves  of  all  superfluous  baggage,  as  well  as  of  many  ar 
ticles  that  were  necessary  for  their  comfort.  The  roadsides  were 
strewn  with  overcoats,  shoes,  knapsacks  and  other  articles  which 
had  been  thrown  away  by  the  troops  in  order  to  lighten  the  bur 
dens  which  became  too  heavy  for  the  march. 


^^TwK^vXv 

f  OF   THE  X 

(UNIVERSITY) 

OF  J 

VfcgAUFORNi^X 


THE    WILDERNESS 


FROM  THE  RAPIDAN  TO  PETERSBURG.  181 

The  supply  trains  were  kept  well  up  with  the  rear  of  the  army, 
and  when  Grant  left  the  Wilderness  to  make  his  flank  movement 
on  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  they  were  advanced  to  Chancellors- 
ville  and  beyond. 

In  his  Memoirs  General  Grant  states  that 

"  There  never  was  a  corps  better  organized  than  was  the  quartermaster's 
corps  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  1864.  With  a  wagon-train  that  would 
have  extended  from  the  Rapidan  to  Richmond,  stretched  along  in  single  file  and 
separated  as  the  teams  necessarily  would  be  when  moving,  we  could  still  carry 
only  three  days'  forage  and  about  ten  to  twelve  days'  rations,  besides  a  supply 
of  ammunition.  To  overcome  all  difficulties,  the  chief  quartermaster,  General 
Rufus  Ingalls,  had  marked  on  each  wagon  the  corps  badge  with  the  division 
color  and  the  number  of  the  brigade.  At  a  glance,  the  particular  brigade  to 
which  any  wagon  belonged  could  be  told.  The  wagons  were  also  marked  to 
note  the  contents  :  if  ammunition,  whether  for  artillery  or  infantry;  if  forage, 
whether  grain  or  hay  ;  if  rations,  whether  bread,  pork,  beans,  rice,  sugar,  coffee 
or  whatever  it  might  be.  Empty  wagons  were  never  allowed  to  follow  the  army 
or  stay  in  camp.  As  soon  as  a  wagon  was  empty  it  would  return  to  the  base  of 
supply  for  a  load  of  precisely  the  same  article  that  had  been  taken  from  it. 
Empty  trains  were  obliged  to  leave  the  road  free  for  loaded  ones.  Arriving  near 
the  army  they  would  be  parked  in  fields  nearest  to  the  brigades  they  belonged 
to.  Issues,  except  of  ammunition,  were  made  at  night  in  all  cases.  By  this 
system  the  hauling  of  forage  for  the  supply  train  was  almost  wholly  dispensed 
with.  They  consumed  theirs  at  the  depots." 

The  Wilderness,  henceforth  to  be  historic,  stretches  westward 
from  Chancellorsville.  The  region  for  the  space  of  a  dozen  miles 
contains  iron  ore,  mines  of  which  had  been  worked  many  years. 
It  is  said  that  here  were  erected  the  first  regular  iron  furnaces  in 
North  America.  The  forests  had  been  cut  down  to  furnish  fuel 
for  these  furnaces.  The  soil  being  generally  poor,  the  region  was 
left  to  Nature,  which  soon  covered  it  with  a  dense  mass  of  dwarf 
pines,  scrub  oaks,  chinquapins  and  the  like.  Every  stump  left  by 
the  woodman's  axe  sent  up  a  cluster  of  sprouts  in  place  of  the 
parent  trunk.  Whortleberries  and  brambles  of  every  kind  twined 
and  matted  themselves  into  thickets  through  which  the  solitary 
huntsman  could  make  his  way  only  by  dragging  his  rifle  after  him. 
Here  and  there  was  a  little  habitation  with  a  small  clearing  around 
it,  surrounded  by  the  forests.  The  road  penetrating  the  thickets 
were  mostly  mere  wood-paths.  In  the  Wilderness  and  upon  its 
borders,  Lee,  with  his  army,  had  within  a  year  and  a  day  thrice  to 
encounter  and  foil  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  the  successive 
commands  of  Hooker,  Meade  and  Grant. 

The  battery  encamped   on   Chancellorsville  Heights,  not  far 
from  the  spot  where  Jackson  fell  after  his  thirty  thousand  Confed- 


182  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

crates  had  completed  the  famous  flank  movement  against  Hooker's 
weak  right,  and  stampeded  the  Eleventh  Corps.  Its  guns  were 
posted  in  the  same  earth -works  in  which  Pleasanton  had  posted 
his  battery  of  artillery  along  with  a  score  of  guns  which  he  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  into  position  out  of  the  confused  mass  around, 
and  double-shotting  the  guns,  swept  the  columns  of  the  enemy  away 
like  chaff.  They  returned  again  and  again  to  the  charge,  and  at 
one  time  came  within  fifty  yards  of  the  guns.  Had  they  known  it 
(for  night  had  set  in),  they  might  have  captured  them,  for  the  ar 
tillery  was  without  infantry  support.  Pleasanton  had  but  two 
squadrons  of  raw  cavalry,  which  he  disposed  in  a  single  line,  with 
drawn  sabres,  in  the  rear  of  his  batteries,  with  orders  to  charge 
should  the  enemy  come  up  to  the  guns. 

Plain  and  plentiful  evidence  of  the  terrible  carnage  of  that 
battle  were  yet  visible  on  every  hand.  The  ground,  especially  in 
the  woods  bordering  the  open  space  where  Pleasanton' s  batteries 
were  posted,  was  littered  with  the  accoutrements,  arms  and  cloth 
ing  of  soldiers,  and  the  bones  and  skulls  of  the  dead.  The  stench 
arising  from  this  mass  of  decayed  human  flesh  and  bone  was  sick 
ening.  The  puddles  of  water  made  by  the  May  showers  were  in 
some  places  covered  with  maggots.  It  was  one  of  the  dark,  horri 
ble  pictures  of  war  which  General  Sherman  so  aptly  defined  as 
"  hell." 

The  battery  arrived  at  Chancellorsville  on  the  loth,  where 
preparations  were  made  for  an  expected  attack  on  the  wagon  trains. 
The  sentinels  were  given  strict  orders  to  give  the  alarm  in  case  any 
unusual  sound  was  heard  in  the  front.  An  ambulance  train,  loaded 
with  wounded  soldiers,  passed  by  at  midnight  on  the  way  to  Fred- 
ericksburg.  Heretofore  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  been  obliged 
to  retreat  across  the  Rappahannock  every  time  after  it  had  crossed 
to  the  south  side  of  that  famous  stream,  subjecting  its  rear 
and  the  stragglers  to  capture  by  the  enemy's  cavalry,  which  gath 
ered  on  each  occasion  many  prisoners  and  large  supplies.  It  was 
probably  with  the  hope  of  a  similar  opportunity,  or  of  finding  a 
vulnerable  point  in  the  line  guarding  the  supply  trains,  that  a  body 
of  their  cavalry  kept  hovering  in  close  proximity.  So  it  behooved 
the  division  guarding  the  immense  trains  of  wagons  to  keep  on  the 
alert  for  an  attack  upon  them. 

The  whole  command  was  called  out  at  i  o'clock  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  1 2th,  in  the  midst  of  heavy  rain  which  had  been  falling 
all  night  long,  and  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  to  move  at  a  mo- 


IN  THE  WILDERNESS— THIRTY  YEARS  AFTER 


FROM  THE  RAPIDAN  TO  PETERSBURG.  183 

ment's  notice.  About  the  same  time  several  cannon  shots,  evi 
dently  not  far  distant,  were  heard  to  the  left.  It  was  thought  that 
a  fight  was  imminent,  but  nothing  further  transpired.  At  daylight 
the  battle  at  Spottsylvania  was  begun,  the  fire  increasing  in  volume 
until  9.30,  when  there  was  a  lull,  only  to  break  forth  anew  with 
increased  fury  soon  after.  Little  cannonading  was  heard,  the  dense 
woods  and  undergrowth  being  an  obstacle  to  the  use  of  artillery. 
All  the  while  rain  fell  in  torrents,  but  the  storm  seemed  to  be 
no  hindrance  to  the  fighting.  At  noon  the  use  of  artillery  was  in 
creased  which  was  followed  by  heavy  musketry  and  continued  until 
after  dark.  The  horses  were  kept  hitched  to  the  battery  all  night 
in  readiness  to  move. 

The  next  morning  came  with  showers  of  rain,  and,  toward 
noon,  heavy  firing  was  again  heard.  The  harness  was  removed 
from  the  horses,  but  put  on  again  in  the  evening,  and  everything 
ordered  to  be  in  readiness  to  meet  any  emergency.  Several  mus 
ket  shots  were  heard  in  close  proximity  during  the  night,  supposed 
to  be  firing  on  the  picket  line.  The  i4th  opened  with  disagree 
able  and  rainy  weather.  The  horses  were  hitched  up  every  even 
ing,  and  each  morning  dawned  with  rain  falling,  which  was  very 
heavy  on  the  i5th.  About  noon  a  body  of  the  enemy's  cavalry 
made  a  dash  on  the  picket  line  at  a  point  close  by  where  the  right 
section  of  Durell's  Battery  was  posted,  but  the  attack  was  gallantly 
repulsed  by  a  regiment  of  the  colored  troops.  An  hour  afterward 
the  command  moved  a  distance  of  about  three  miles  on  the  road 
toward  Fredericksburg,  and  encamped  on  a  very  muddy  piece  of 
ground  between  two  regiments  of  colored  troops.  All  was  very 
quiet  along  the  front  line  the  next  day,  but  the  horses  were  kept 
hitched  to  the  gun-carriages  the  entire  day  in  readiness  to  move. 

On  the  morning  of  the  iyth,  the  horses  were  unharnessed  and 
given  a  thorough  grooming,  which  they  were  badly  in  need  of,  and 
the  colored  regiments  were  set  to  drilling.  Late  in  the  afternoon 
the  battery  was  again  on  the  march,  and  parked  that  night  on  the 
old  Confederate  camp  ground  at  Salem  Church,  five  miles  from 
Fredericksburg.  The  whole  army  was  making  a  flank  movement 
to  the  left  from  Spottsylvania.  All  was  quiet  the  next  day.  A 
brigade  of  cavalry  came  in  from  the  Rappahannock  River,  which 
reported  that  it  had  an  engagement  with  the  enemy  at  United 
States  Ford,  in  which  it  lost  several  of  its  men  in  killed  and  wounded. 
The  battery  remained  here  until  the  2ist,  when  it  marched  across 
the  country  regardless  of  roads,  and  passed  through  woods  and 


184  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

fields  to  reach  another  section  of  the  supply  train  than  the  one 
which  it  had  been  guarding.  A  stop  was  made  for  the  night  in  a 
thicket  and  the  horses  kept  in  the  harness  with  orders  to  move  at 
a  moment's  notice.  The  Bowling  Green  road  was  reached  the 
next  morning  and  the  supply  train  passed  down  the  valley.  In  the 
evening  camp  was  pitched  near  Guinea  Station  in  a  very  dusty  field. 

The  battery  was  called  up  at  3  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
23rd,  and  awaited  the  order  to  march  until  5  P.  M.,  before  a  start 
was  made.  The  weather  was  very  warm.  Passing  through  Bowl 
ing  Green,  it  bivouacked  a  mile  from  Milford  Station  at  10  P.  M. 
All  of  the  next  day  was  spent  at  this  place.  A  section  of  country 
was  now  entered  that  had  not  been  traversed  by  either  army,  and 
it  presented  opportunities  for  the  boys  to  indulge  in  foraging. 
Leaf  tobacco  was  found  in  great  quantities,  which  the  men  brought 
into  camp  by  the  armload,  and  all  the  cigar  makers  in  the  com 
mand  were  at  once  put  to  work  in  filling  "hurry  orders"  for 
cigars,  which  were  called  "  Rappahannocks. "  The  leaf  was  suit 
able  for  the  manufacture  of  smoking  tobacco,  but  furnished  some 
thing  awful  in  the  form  of  a  cigar.  The  location  of  the  camp  was 
very  inconvenient,  water  for  the  horses  being  a  mile  distant. 

The  battery  marched  again  on  the  25th,  crossing  the  Matta- 
pony  River  and  encamped  two  miles  beyond,  at  Wright's  Tavern, 
where  two  days'  stop  was  made.  Here  a  long  train  of  empty 
wagons  passed  down  to  the  White  House,  where  a  new  base  of 
supplies  had  been  established.  WThile  at  this  place  several  hun 
dred  of  the  enemy's  prisoners  were  brought  in  under  guard  from  the 
front,  on  the  way  to  Fredericksburg.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
2yth  a  countermarch  was  ordered,  the  Mattapony  recrossed,  and  a 
halt  for  supper  made  at  Milford,  after  which  the  column  pro 
ceeded  on  a  course  down  the  eastern  side  of  the  Mattapony.  It 
was  on  the  move  all  night  over  bad  roads  and  the  battery  several 
times  stuck  in  the  mud,  from  which  it  was  extricated  with  difficulty. 
The  army  was  now  making  a  flank  movement  from  the  North  Anna 
to  Cold  Harbor. 

The  men  were  very  much  worn  by  the  march  and  from  the 
loss  of  sleep  when  the  battery  went  into  park  the  next  morning. 
The  country  abounded  in  forage,  some  of  the  men  even  revelling 
in  the  luxury  of  chicken.  The  march  was  again  taken  up  at  3 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  passing  through  Newtown,  and  con 
tinued  until  3  o'clock  the  next  morning,  when  the  command  turned 
into  park  and  remained  there  until  the  morning  of  the  3oth,  when 


SPOTTSYLVANIA — ONE  YEAR  AFTER  THE  BATTLE 
(From  a  photograph  taken  at  that  time) 


FROM  THE  RAPIDAN  TO  PETERSBURG.  185 

it  again  crossed  the  Mattapony  River,  at  Dunkirk,  passing  on 
through  Ayletsville,  moving  at  a  rapid  pace.  The  weather  was  very 
hot  and  the  roads  were  dusty  from  the  grinding  process  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected  by  the  wheels  of  the  supply  trains.  The 
fences  on  the  road  side  were  on  fire,  the  smoke  and  heat  arising 
from  them  adding  to  the  discomfort  of  the  marching  column.  The 
day's  march  ended  near  the  Pamunkey  River. 

At  i  o'clock  P.  M.  on  the  3ist  the  Pamunkey  was  crossed  on 
a  pontoon  bridge,  and  camp  was  established  on  the  south  bank  of 
that  stream,  the  tents  being  pitched  on  a  splendid  piece  of  sod. 
The  facilities  for  bathing  in  the  river  being  very  good,  a  large 
number  of  the  men  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  wash 
the  accumulation  of  Virginia  dirt  from  their  persons.  Heavy  can 
nonading  was  heard  down  the  river. 

No  movement  was  made  on  June  ist,  and  the  men  were 
afforded  an  opportunity  for  letter- writing.  The  whole  division  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps  (what  was  left  of  them)  passed  by 
on  the  way  north  to  be  mustered  out  of  service,  their  term  of 
enlistment  having  expired.  They  were  a  happy  lot  of  men.  They 
had  under  guard  500  Confederate  prisoners,  who  were  corre 
spondingly  depressed.  The  Reserves  also  carried  with  them  a 
large  number  of  letters  just  written  by  the  men  of  the  battery  to 
be  dropped  at  the  first  post-office  reached. 

The  weather  was  very  hot  on  June  2nd,  when  the  pontoon 
bridge  was  taken  up.  The  battery  followed  the  train  for  a  distance 
of  four  miles,  and  encamped  in  a  clean  field  near  wood  and  water. 
The  report  of  heavy  cannonading  was  heard  from  the  front,  which 
proved  to  be  the  opening  of  the  battle  at  Cold  Harbor.  A  march 
of  about  t\vo  miles  followed  on  the  next  day,  and  an  encampment 
made  in  a  cornfield,  where  the  battery  remained  until  the  morning 
of  the  6th.  The  sounds  of  battle  indicated  that  there  was  very 
heavy  fighting  at  the  front. 

The  next  march  of  the  battery  was  made  to  Old  Church 
Tavern,  where  it  took  position  for  action  in  an  apple  orchard,  and 
the  colored  troops  were  put  to  work  at  building  earthworks.  On 
the  following  day  the  position  was  well  intrenched  to  meet  an  attack 
fro  n  the  enemy.  Some  of  the  men  were  still  suffering  from  the 
effects  of  the  severe  campaign  which  they  had  gone  through  in 
Mississippi  the  previous  summer,  being  laid  up  with  an  occasional 
attack  of  chills  and  fever.  The  atmosphere  of  the  Chickahominy 
country,  upon  the  verge  of  which  the  army  had  now  approached, 


1 86  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

was  no  doubt  an  exciting  cause  of  the  increase  in  the  number  of 
such  cases.  But  malaria  was  deep  seated  and  had  fastened  its  hold 
upon  the  constitution  of  the  men  who  had  passed  through  that 
trying  campaign. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  loth  the  supply  trains  were  attacked 
by  the  enemy's  cavalry,  but  it  was  met  by  a  body  of  Union  cavalry, 
which,  although  driven  in  some  distance,  repelled  the  attack  after 
a  short  and  sharp  engagement.  The  battery  was  quickly  advanced 
and  the  guns  placed  in  position  for  action  just  outside  the  park, but 
the  enemy  was  repulsed  before  he  came  within  range.  The  next 
day  everything  was  ordered  to  be  packed  up  in  readiness  to  move, 
but  at  noon  the  cavalry  and  infantry  that  had  gone  out  returned  to 
their  camps,  and  the  battery  was  ordered  to  unpack  and  remain 
quiet. 

The  march  was  again  resumed  on  the  morning  of  the  i2th, 
encamping  in  the  afternoon  about  eight  miles  from  the  White 
House.  The  roads  were  heavy,  and  delays  were  caused  by  the 
teams  sticking  in  the  mud.  Another  flank  movement  was  now  in 
progress  from  Cold  Harbor  to  the  James  River.  In  the  execution 
of  this  manoeuvre  the  supply  trains  made  a  wide  detour  to  Charles 
City  Court  House.  They  moved  at  10  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
the  column  marching  forward  at  a  quick  pace  until  night,  when  it 
encamped  at  New  Kent  Court  House.  The  whole  corps  had 
marched  together  in  the  morning,  but  was  again  separated  before 
night  by  the  three  white  divisions  branching  off  to  the  right  from 
the  course  which  the  division  guarding  the  supply  trains  was  pur 
suing. 

Reveille  was  sounded  at  3  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  i4th. 
A  rapid  march  was  made  until  9  o'clock,  nearly  the  entire  route 
being  through  woods,  when  the  battery  parked  in  a  corn  field. 

The  next  morning  the  march  was  begun  at  10  o'clock,  and 
kept  up  until  dark,  when  the  command  bivouacked  in  the  woods 
about  a  mile  from  the  banks  of  the  historic  Chickahominy  River. 
Here  a  stampede  occurred  among  a  portion  of  the  colored  infantry 
during  the  night.  It  was  created  by  a  drove  of  beef  cattle  running 
through  the  bivouac  of  the  troops  and  knocking  over  their  stacked 
arms.  There  was  some  shooting,  but  order  was  restored  before 
much  damage  was  done. 

The  1 6th  was  a  very  hot  day,  and,  as  was  invariably  the  case 
when  the  weather  was  hot,  the  march  was  longest  and  most  weary. 
The  Chickahominy  was  crossed,  and,  after  an  hour's  halt  to  allow 


FROM  THE  RAPIDAN  TO  PETERSBURG.  187 

the  trains  to  pass  forward,  the  march  was  continued  to  within  two 
miles  of  Charles  City  Court  House,  where  the  battery  took  position 
in  fortifications  which  had  been  occupied  by  troops  of  the  Sixth 
Corps.  Here  it  remained  until  10  o'clock  the  next  morning,  when 
it  crossed  the  James  River  on  a  pontoon  bridge  constructed  of 
every  sort  of  craft  that  could  be  impressed  for  the  purpose,  from  a 
canal  boat  to  a  large  schooner.  The  battery,  with  a  support  of  in 
fantry,  were  the  last  troops  of  the  column  to  cross  over  to  the  south 
side  of  the  stream.  The  march  across  the  Peninsula  was  a  hard 
one.  The  columns  were  often  on  the  road  all  night,  living  on  ten 
';  hard  tack  "  and  a  half  ration  of  beef  per  day. 

In  the  evening  of  the  i6th,  just  after  the  battery  had  pitched  its 
tents  on  the  banks  of  the  James,  a  Confederate  battery  suddenly 
appeared  on  the  hills  upon  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  opened  its 
guns  on  the  transports  and  the  Third  Vermont  Battery  which  was 
encamped  near  by.  A  gunboat,  lying  down  the  stream,  drew  up 
to  the  bridge  and  replied  to  the  enemy,  who  did  not  at  first  take 
notice  of  these  shots,  directing  all  his  fire  upon  the  transports ; 
but  it  did  not  require  more  than  a  dozen  from  the  superior  guns 
and  service  of  the  gunboat  to  get  the  range  and  drive  the  Confed 
erate  battery  out  of  sight.  The  enemy's  shots  inflicted  no  serious 
damage,  but  the  two  batteries  took  the  precaution  to  move  back  to 
the  hills  to  a  less  exposed  location,  where  they  would  not  be  liable 
again  to  such  a  sudden  surprise  as  the  enemy  had  just  sprung  upon 
them. 

The  reveille  was  sounded  at  5  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 8th,  and  an  hour  later  the  column  was  in  motion,  moving  rapidly 
towards  Petersburg,  where  a  battle  was  in  progress.  A  halt  was 
made  at  2  o'clock,  long  enough  to  cook  a  cup  of  coffee,  after  which 
it  pushed  forward  rapidly  until  9  o'clock,  when  it  reached  the  outer 
line  of  intrenchments  at  Petersburg  from  which  the  enemy  had 
been  driven.  It  was  a  hard  day's  march.  Very  few  tents  were 
put  up  that  night,  for  it  was  difficult  to  find  material  for  poles  and 
pins  in  the  darkness. 

The  next  morning  it  was  seen  that  the  battery  was  within  a 
mile  and  a  half  of  Petersburg,  with  a  portion  of  the  city  in  sight. 


1 88  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ASSAULTING  THE  PETERSBURG  LINES. 

^  I  ^HE  attack  made  on  the  enemy's  position  on  the  i8th  of 
_L  June,  the  brunt  of  which  fell  upon  the  Second  and  Ninth 
Corps,  proved  that  the  bulk  of  Lee's  army  had  arrived,  and 
that  the  new  line  of  intrenchments  which  he  had  thrown  up  were 
too  strong  to  be  taken  by  assault.  So  the  army  settled  down  to 
besiege  Petersburg,  and  invest  it  by  extending  the  Union  left  so  as 
to  cut  off  railroad  communication.  Brisk  firing  was  kept  up  on  the 
skirmish  line  which  was  varied  by  an  occasional  outbreak  of  artil 
lery  fire. 

On  the  night  of  the  2oth,  after  Bugler  Joseph  M.  Cuffel  had 
blown  tattoo  and  one  half  the  men  were  asleep,  the  command  was 
aroused  by  the  bugle  sounding  ' '  Boots  and  Saddles. ' '  While  the 
men  were  packing  and  hitching  up,  the  captain  rode  up  to  the 
point  which  his  battery  was  to  occupy,  and  returned  in  about  an 
hour.  The  command  then  moved  out  of  camp,  passed  through  a 
woods  and  posted  the  guns  for  action  in  the  front  line  of  earth 
works  on  the  left  of  the  Ninth  Corps'  line,  relieving  Romer's  Bat 
tery,  which  had  occupied  the  position  since  the  i8th. 

The  sharpshooters  on  either  side  of  the  contending  lines  were 
from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  yards  apart,  posted  in  trees, 
buildings,  haystacks,  rifle-pits  and  any  place  that  afforded  eminence 
or  protection  for  their  operations.  Some  of  those  on  the  Union 
side  were  but  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  yards  in  front  of 
the  battery.  It  was  discovered  early  the  next  morning  that  the  ex 
posure  of  a  head  or  any  moving  object  above  the  top  of  the  earth 
works,  would  be  instantly  greeted  by  bullets  from  the  enemy.  The 
men  were  obliged ,  therefore ,  to  keep  under  cover.  The  caissons  had 
been  left  back  in  camp,  and  pits  were  dug  for  the  protection  of  the 
ammunition  chests,  which  were  taken  off  the  limbers  of  the  gun- 
carriages.  Cooked  rations  were  taken  to  the  men  in  the  intrench 
ments  from  the  cook-house  back  in  the  camp.  The  battery  opened 
on  the  enemy's  works  in  the  course  of  the  day,  to  which  he  made 
a  feeble  reply. 


ASSAULTING  THE  PETERSBURG  LINES.  189 

On  the  22nd  Captain  Durell  was  ordered  to  open  his  guns  on  a 
haystack  located  between  the  lines  to  dislodge  some  troublesome 
sharpshooters.  After  expending  several  rounds  of  time  shell  the 
stack  took  fire  and  no  further  annoyance  was  experienced  from  that 
quarter.  This  drew  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  batteries  and  there 
was  a  lively  artillery  duel,  which  ended  in  the  enemy's  guns  being 
silenced.  David  Walters,  from  Reading,  was  wounded  during  the 
day  while  in  his  tent.  He  was  lying  upon  his  side  when  a  rifle 
ball  struck  a  tree,  and,  glancing  from  it,  entered  his  back.  The 
wound  was  not  considered  dangerous.  Near  midnight  the  mus 
ketry  and  cannonading  became  quite  heavy,  the  battery  participa 
ting.  The  flurry  was  brought  on  by  a  dash  from  the  enemy  while 
the  Union  pickets  were  being  relieved. 

On  the  following  day  the  battery  opened  upon  another  hay 
stack,  and  during  the  night  replied  to  an  attack  of  the  enemy  upon 
the  Union  skirmish  line,  which  was  repulsed,  when  the  firing  sub 
sided  and  the  men  turned  in  to  sleep.  Three  different  attacks  by 
the  enemy  were  handsomely  repulsed  during  the  day.  Picket 
firing  was  kept  up  incessantly,  night  and  day.  Nearly  every  night 
when  the  pickets  were  relieved,  the  enemy  opened  with  volleys  of 
musketry,  when  the  bullets  flew  thick  over  the  earthworks  occupied 
by  the  battery.  This  was  equivalent  to  the  command  "  Cannon 
eers,  to  your  posts,"  for  all  hands  ran  to  their  posts  at  the  guns  as 
quickly  as  possible. 

On  the  evening  of  the  24th  the  battery  opened  with  a  few  shots 
in  anticipation  of  the  regular  attack  on  the  picket  line,  but  the 
enemy  kept  quiet.  The  next  evening,  at  dusk,  a  very  heavy  fire 
of  musketry  opened,  which  brought  on  quite  a  lively  engagement 
between  the  artillery  on  both  sides,  in  which  Durell' s  Battery  ex 
pended  several  rounds  of  ammunition.  The  battle  continued  for 
nearly  an  hour,  when  it  ceased  as  suddenly  as  it  had  begun.  The 
men  received  a  ration  of  fresh  bread,  the  first  that  had  been  issued 
since  the  departure  from  Washington.  It  was  the  size  of  the  com 
mon  loaf  of  the  baker,  and  many  of  the  men  consumed  it  at  one 
meal. 

Mortars  had  now  been  brought  into  use  along  the  line  of 
intrenchments  in  front  of  Petersburg,  two  of  which  were  located  on 
the  right  of  the  battery,  and  four  more  were  planted  on  the  left  of 
it  on  the  night  of  the  26th.  The  enemy  had  also  begun  to  use 
this  engine  of  warfare  on  the  Union  lines,  the  exploding  shells  of 
which  were  much  more  dreaded  by  the  men  than  those  shot  from 


190  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

cannon,  for  they  seemed  to  drop  down  from  the  sky  without  warn 
ing  and  burst  within  the  breastworks.  Exposure  to  mortar  shelling 
was  a  new  experience  which  the  men  regarded  as  a  contemptible 
scheme  to  make  a  soldier's  life  wretched. 

The  weather  was  hot,  and  the  close  confinement  in  the  forti 
fications,  above  the  parapet  of  which  it  was  dangerous  to  show  so 
much  as  a  hand  to  the  enemy's  vie\v,  made  them  anything  but  a 
desirable  summer  resort.  The  fighting  during  the  daytime  was 
principally  confined  to  the  skirmish  line,  varied  by  an  occasional 
artillery  or  mortar  duel.  When  not  engaged  in  the  line  of  duty, 
the  men  passed  the  time  in  reading  all  the  books  and  papers  that 
could  be  obtained,  writing  letters  and  in  sleep. 

The  enemy  opened  a  heavy  fire  from  his  artillery  on  the  2yth, 
from  a  new  fort  erected  in  the  edge  of  a  woods  nearly  in  front  of 
Durell's  Battery,  their  operations  having  been  concealed  by  a  smoky 
fire.  Their  shots  were  first  directed  upon  the  mortars  recently 
placed  on  the  Union  line.  Durell's  and  several  other  batteries 
promptly  replied.  Accurate  shots  were  made,  some  of  the  shells 
exploding  in  the  embrasures  of  the  enemy's  forts,  which  soon 
silenced  his  guns.  His  last  few  shots  were  directed  at  Durell's 
Battery,  and  resulted  in  killing  two  horses  and  wounding  two  men. 
Daniel  D.  Armel,  from  Berks  County,  was  mortally  wounded  by  a 
solid  shot  that  rolled  back  to  the  caisson  camp  and  struck  him  on 
the  head  while  lying  in  his  tent.  He  was  taken  to  the  field  hospi 
tal  where  he  died  a  few  days  afterward.  The  other  man  was 
Joseph  Lear,  from  Bucks  County,  who  went  down  into  the  Big 
Black  River  with  the  caisson  when  the  bridge  broke,  and  whose 
adventure  on  that  occasion  has  been  referred  to.  He  was  struck 
on  the  arm  by  a  spent  musket-ball,  receiving  but  a  slight  wound. 
He  was  able  to  carry  a  kettle  of  soup  the  same  day  from  camp  up 
to  the  men  in  the  trenches.  The  left  section  of  the  battery  was 
moved  to  a  new  position  some  distance  to  the  left,  and  the  men 
put  to  work  at  strengthening  the  fortification. 

The  Confederates  now  began  to  use  their  mortars  more 
frequently,  and  kept  the  batterymen  busy  either  in  replying  or  in 
hugging  the  breast  works  for  hours  at  a  time.  The  fortifications 
were  strengthened  by  placing  bags  of  sand  on  the  parapets.  On 
the  3oth  another  severe  engagement  was  begun  by  the  enemy  on 
the  right,  which  extended  to  Durell's  front  and  in  which  the  guns 
of  the  .battery  took  part.  For  a  time  the  air  was  full  of  bursting 
shells  and  bullets.  Henry  S.  Rogers,  from  Reading,  was  wounded 


ASSAULTING  THE  PETERSBURG  LINES.  191 

while  in  the  woods  cutting  logs  for  the  earthworks.  The  ball  struck 
his  shoe  and  caused  a  painful  bruise  of  the  foot.  George  F.  Lud- 
wig,  from  Berks  County,  had  his  pantaloons  and  leg  of  his  boot 
pierced  by  a  bullet,  the  ball  lodging  in  the  boot.  He  was  not  hurt, 
but  it  was  regarded  by  the  boys  as  a  very  close  call.  During  the 
night  a  very  lively  duel  took  place  in  the  woods  to  the  right. 

There  was  unusual  quiet  along  the  lines  on  the  morning  of 
July  ist.  Even  the  skirmish  fire  had  almost  ceased  ;  but  at  about 
midnight  a  storm  broke,  when  the  cannonading  and  musketry  fire 
was  quite  heavy.  The  men  were  called  up  to  the  guns,  but  they 
were  not  opened.  The  time  was  passed  in  watching  the  shells 
flying  through  the  air,  streaking  the  darkness  with  tails  of  fire,  like 
a  shower  of  meteors  falling  from  the  sky.  It  was  a  spectacle 
terribly  grand. 

Nothing  unusual  occurred  on  the  4th,  although  it  was  reported 
that  General  Grant  had  ordered  an  assault  to  be  made  upon  the 
enemy  on  that  day.  The  day,  however,  was  celebrated  by  the 
distribution  of  pickles  and  onions  among  the  troops,  which  were 
gratefully  received.  A  ship  load  of  these  very  acceptable  articles 
of  food  had  been  sent  from  New  York  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

The  horses,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  retained  for  the  use 
of  the  officers  and  orderlies,  were  sent  back  to  the  caisson  park,  as 
they  were  unnecessarily  exposed  while  at  the  front  to  the  enemy's 
fire.  The  caisson  park  was  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant 
Samuel  H.  Rhoads,  chief  of  the  line  of  caissons.  The  cannoneers 
remained  with  their  pieces  in  the  trenches,  almost  constantly 
exposed  to  the  bursting  mortar  shells  and  the  whizzing  bullets,  the 
latter  being  sure  to  pass  in  close  proximity  to  any  one  who  had  the 
temerity  to  show  head  or  hand  above  the  top  of  the  earth  works, 
if  they  did  not  hit  him.  The  monotony  of  this  duress  was  fre 
quently  broken  by  an  artillery  duel,  which  was  liable  to  break  out 
at  any  time  during  the  day  or  night.  The  men  made  themselves 
as  comfortable  as  circumstances  and  the  circumscribed  limits  of  the 
fortifications  permitted,  a  number  of  them  having  brought  in  from 
the  woods  poles  and  pine  branches  of  which  very  good  beds  were 
made. 

The  battery  was  relieved  on  the  night  of  the  Qth  by  the  ipth 
New  York  Battery,  having  held  this  position,  on  the  most  hotly 
contested  point  on  the  line,  just  nineteen  days.  Horses  were 
brought  forward  and  the  pieces  taken  out  of  the  fortifications,  and 
moved  to  the  other  portion  of  the  command  at  the  caisson  park. 


192  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  day  following,  after  the  usual  Sunday  morning  inspection,  a 
march  of  about  three  miles  was  made  to  the  left,  where  a  good 
camp  ground  was  taken  in  a  pine  woods.  It  had  been  the  camp 
ing  place  of  troops  that  had  recently  been  ordered  elsewhere,  and 
they  had  left  a  good  supply  of  boards,  crotches,  poles  and  other 
material  found  in  the  construction  of  comfortable  quarters.  The 
men  soon  fitted  up  quarters  for  themselves  that  were  luxurious  in 
comparison  with  those  they  had  left  in  the  trenches.  The  tar 
paulins  were  used  as  tents.  They  were  spread  upon  high  poles, 
which  permitted  the  construction  of  bunks,  elevated  two  feet  from 
the  ground.  Branches  of  cedar  were  placed  on  the  bunks  and 
made  a  very  comfortable  bed. 

The  enjoyment  of  these  pleasant  surroundings  was,  however, 
cut  short  by  the  receipt  of  marching  orders  on  the  i2th.  The  bat 
tery  then  moved  to  the  north  side  of  the  Petersburg  and  Norfolk 
Railroad,  encamping  in  a  wheatfield,  where  the  infantry  of  the 
division  was  set  to  work  in  building  earthworks  for  the  battery. 
Water  was  very  scarce  at  this  place.  The  weather  was  hot  and  the 
ground  parched  with  drought.  There  had  been  no  rain  for  more 
than  two  months,  and  the  soil  was  ground  so  fine  by  the  tramp  of 
troops  and  the  grinding  wheels  of  the  artillery  and  baggage  trains 
that  every  little  breeze  filled  the  air  with  clouds  of  dust.  This 
movement  of  the  corps  was  made  to  meet  an  expected  attack  by  a 
heavy  column  of  the  enemy  which  had  made  its  appearance  on  the 
Union  left  and  rear.  Everything  was  in  commotion,  the  troops 
being  rapidly  pushed  forward  to  the  point  threatened,  and  the  bag 
gage  and  supply  trains  rumbled  as  rapidly  to  the  rear. 

The  colored  troops  worked  earnestly  upon  the  fort  until  the 
1 6th,  when  it  was  completed  and  the  guns  of  the  battery  were 
placed  in  it  ready  for  action.  It  was  situated  on  a  landed  estate 
near  a  fine  mansion  surrounded  by  a  grove  of  large  shade  trees, 
with  a  splendid  young  apple  orchard  near  by,  all  of  which  were  cut 
down  and  the  limbs  pointed  and  used  as  abatis  for  the  defence  of 
the  fort  and  intrenchments  extending  from  the  right  and  left  of  it. 
One  very  large  tree  remained  lodged  against  the  mansion  where  it 
had  fallen  when  it  was  cut.  Three  negro  huts  that  stood  as  an  ob 
struction  to  the  range  of  the  guns  were  burned  to  the  ground. 
All  the  woods  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  were  cut  down,  both  to 
clear  the  view  and  to  place  a  strong  obstacle  in  the  way  of  an 
assaulting  column,  which  the  tangled  mass  of  prostrate  trunks  and 
limbs  of  the  trees  furnished.  A  large  woods  more  distant  was  set 


MAP   OF 
PETERSBURG 


HATCHES  RWU  FIVE  FORKS 

I  HI.S 


«.at  i 


ASSAULTING  THE  PETERSBURG  LINES.  193 

on  fire  and  consumed.  Fort  Durell  (for  so  it  was  named)  was 
built  of  logs  and  earth,  and  had  capacity  for  eighteen  guns.  It 
was  surrounded  by  a  moat  twelve  feet  wide,  and  was  connected  by 
a  line  of  intrenchments  to  the  right  and  left,  which  were  filled 
with  the  infantry  of  the  corps.  The  Norfolk  Railroad  ran  directly 
in  front  under  cover  of  the  guns. 

On  the  day  after  the  arrival  at  this  place  each  detachment  of 
the  battery  was  sent  across  the  road  to  dig  a  well  for  a  supply  of 
water  for  its  own  use.  They  were  dug  on  a  low  piece  of  ground 
on  the  edge  of  a  dry  swamp.  One  day's  work  of  digging  from 
seven  to  fourteen  feet  in  depth  sufficed  to  obtain  six  wells  of  pretty 
good  water,  in  quantity  sufficient  to  supply  the  men  and  horses 
The  caissons  were  sent  back  into  a  woods  about  half  a  mile  dis 
tant,  where  a  comfortable  camp  was  established  for  hat  portion  of 
the  command.  The  engineer  corps,  under  command  of  Captain 
Howard,  assisted  by  a  detail  of  colored  troops,  constructed  a  large 
and  substantial  magazine  within  the  confines  of  the  fort,  and  the 
artillerists  made  comfortable  quarters  for  themselves.  The  assault 
of  the  enemy  was  expected  to  be  made  on  the  night  of  the  lyth, 
and  an  extra  supply  of  canister  was  brought  up  from  the  caissons. 
A  much- needed  all-day  rain  fell  on  the  20th,  which  refreshed  both 
nature  and  humanity.  On  the  2ist,  Captain  Durell  left  for  his 
home  on  sick  leave,  and  the  battery  was  turned  over  to  the  com 
mand  of  Lieutenant  Silvis.  The  captain  had  been  for  some  time 
in  poor  health,  and  the  men,  who  greatly  admired  their  old  com 
mander,  were  fearful  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  return  to  them. 

Marching  orders  were  received  on  the  2 2nd,  when  the  troops 
on  this  portion  of  the  line  were  relieved  by  a  division  of  the  Second 
Army  Corps,  the  First  New  Hampshire  Battery  taking  the  position 
made  vacant  by  the  removal  of  Durell' s  Battery.  These  two 
commands  were  old  friends,  the  two  batteries  having  encamped 
side  by  side  during  the  first  winter  of  the  service,  near  Munson's 
Hill,  Virginia.  Durell' s  Battery  marched  back  to  the  place  that  it 
had  occupied  previous  to  taking  its  first  position  in  the  intrench- 
ments  in  front  of  Petersburg,  where  it  again  encamped  Here  the 
gun  and  field  drills  were  resumed,  and  the  harness  and  guns  cleaned 
and  burnished.  There  had  been  no  opportunity  for  drills  since 
the  departure  from  Warrenton  Junction  at  the  opening  of  the 
campaign. 

On  Sunday  night  the  24th,  a  wind  and  rain  storm  set  in  which 
increased  until  midnight,  when  it  became  so  severe  as  to  blow 


194  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

down  half  of  the  tents  and  drown  the  men  out  of  their  beds.  Some 
of  them  got  up  and  reset  their  tents,  but  others  lay  still  and 
accepted  the  situation  very  philosophically.  After  tattoo,  on  the 
25th,  orders  were  received  to  hitch  up  to  the  pieces  and  take  them 
to  the  intrenchments  at  the  front.  The  position  assigned  to  the 
battery  was  in  Fort  Morton,  a  large  earth  work  just  completed, 
back  of  an  apple  orchard,  distant  about  500  yards  to  the  left  of 
the  first  position  occupied  by  it  at  the  beginning  of  the  siege.  Six 
32-pounders  had  been  placed  in  the  fort  on  the  day  previous. 
The  interior  was  very  much  crowded ;  so  much  so  that  the  men 
were  scarcely  able  to  stretch  themselves  at  full  length  for  sleep.  At 
this  point  the  firing  on  both  sides  of  the  lines  was  kept  up  by  the 
skirmishers  and  sharpshooters  incessantly,  day  and  night,  with  fre 
quent  duels  between  the  artillery  and  mortar  batteries,  which  were 
sure  to  bring  a  shower  of  bursting  shells  in  and  about  the  fort.  It 
was  apparently  masked  behind  the  orchard,  but  it  was  doubtful 
whether  the  enemy  was  ignorant  of  its  existence.  Certain  it  was, 
that  he  fired  enough  shot  and  shell  in  its  direction  to  confirm  the 
belief  that  it  was  the  object  of  the  aim  of  his  gunners 

Two  hundred  rounds  of  ammunition  were  received  on  the 
night  of  the  2yth  and  stored  in  the  magazine  of  the  fort.  The 
colored  division  and  the  Second  Division  of  the  Ninth  Corps  were 
brought  up  in  rear  of  the  line  of  intrenchments,  and  there  was 
every  indication  of  hot  work  ahead.  The  enemy's  mortar  shells 
continued  to  drop  in  the  lines  daily  which  was  a  source  of  constant 
harassment  to  the  troops  held  in  the  close  confines  of  the  intrench 
ments. 


THE  BURNSIDE  MINE.  195 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
THE  BURNSIDE  MINE. 

PREPARATIONS  were  made  on  the  night  of  the  29th  to 
spring  the  mine  run  under  the  Confederate  fort  facing  Fort 
Morton  which  was  to  be  followed  by  an  assault  upon  the 
enemy's  lines  the  next  morning.  The  command  was  called  out  at 
3  o'clock.  Every  man  took  his  post,  awaiting  the  explosion  which 
was  fixed  to  come  off  at  3.30  o'clock.  Back  of  the  Union  lines 
could  be  seen,  in  the  gray  dawn,  thousands  of  troops  massed  for 
the  attack.  The  substance  of  the  account  of  this  affair,  which 
occurred  in  the  immediate  front  of  Durell's  Battery,  is  largely 
drawn  from  Harpe? '  s  Pictorial  History  of  the  Rebellion. 

At  this  point  the  intrenchments  of  the  Ninth  Corps  approached 
within  140  yards  of  the  Confederate  works.  Just  in  rear  of  the 
advanced  position,  held  by  the  51  stand  48th  Pennsylvania  regiments, 
was  a  deep  hollow,  made  forty  feet  deeper  by  a  cut  of  the  Nor 
folk  and  Petersburg  Railroad,  where  work  could  be  carried  on  un 
seen  by  the  enemy.  The  48th  Pennsylvania  was  made  up  of 
Schuylkill  miners.  Some  of  the  soldiers  suggested  that  a  mine 
should  be  dug  right  under  this  Confederate  fort,  perched  upon  the 
brow  overhanging  the  hollow.  The  talk  passed  from  grade  to 
grade,  until  it  reached  Colonel  Henry  Pleasants,  the  commander 
of  the  regiment,  and  was  finally  communicated  to  General  Burn- 
side,  who  at  once  gave  permission  for  the  commencement  of  the 
work.  Meade  had  so  little  confidence  in  its  success  that  only  the 
slightest  facilities  were  afforded  for  its  execution.  Nothing  better 
than  empty  cracker  boxes  were  furnished  to  carry  out  the  earth. 
In  spite  of  all  obstacles,  Pleasants  pushed  on  the  work. 

It  was  begun  on  the  25th  of  June  and  was  finished  on  the  23rd 
of  July.  It  consisted  of  a  main  shaft  four  or  five  feet  in  diameter, 
525  feet  long,  terminating  in  lateral  branches  forty  feet  in  either 
direction.  The  mine  was  charged  with  8,000  pounds  of  powder. 
The  Ninth  Corps  was  to  dash  through  the  break  and  seize  a  crest 
a  few  hundred  yards  in  the  rear,  known  as  Cemetery  Hill  which 
commanded  Petersburg.  The  fuse  was  lighted  at  the  appointed 
time,  l)i] t  an  hour  passed  and  no  explosion  followed,  Two  brave 


196  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

men,  Lieutenant  Douty  and  Sergeant  Rees,  volunteered  to  creep 
into  the  mine  and  ascertain  the  cause.  They  found  that  the  fuse 
had  parted  within  fifty  feet  of  the  magazine.  They  lighted  it  and 
had  just  emerged  from  the  mine  when  the  explosion  took  place. 
A  solid  mass  of  earth,  mingled  with  timbers,  and  everything  and 
person  within  the  fort  rose  200  feet  in  the  air  and  fell  sullenly 
back,  leaving,  where  the  fort  had  stood,  a  crater  200  feet  long,  sixty 
feet  wide  and  thirty  feet  deep,  and  raised  a  cloud  of  dust  that  was 
some  moments  in  settling. 

At  the  instant  the  guns  from  all  the  batteries  opened  fire. 
The  orchard  in  front  of  Fort  Morton  was  quickly  cut  down  by  two 
colored  soldiers  with  axes  to  each  tree,  to  clear  the  range  for  the 
32-pounders  and  Durell's  guns,  which  now  joined  in  the  bombard 
ment  of  the  Confederate  lines.  The  enemy  were  taken  completely 
by  surprise  and  replied  but  feebly,  and  this  feeble  fire  was  soon  al 
most  silenced.  After  about  fifteen  minutes  the  fire  upon  the  crater 
and  its  vicinity  was  withdrawn,  when  Ledlie's  men  dashed  over 
the  lip  of  the  crater  and  plunged  wildly  into  its  depths.  Between 
them  and  the  commanding  crest  on  Cemetery  Hill  there  was  noth 
ing  but  the  rough,  steep  sides  of  the  crater.  A  determined  rush 
would  have  crowned  the  crest  with  the  loss  of  hardly  a  man. 

The  enemy  abandoned  their  lines  for  a  space  on  each  side  of 
the  chasm.  Into  these  the  troops  spread  themselves  and  sought 
shelter.  Brigade  after  brigade  poured  in  until  the  crater  was 
crowded  with  a  disorganized  mass.  A  single  regiment  advanced 
a  few  hundred  yards  toward  the  crest,  but,  seeing  no  others  follow 
ing  them,  fell  back  into  the  shelter  of  the  crater  and  abandoned 
the  Confederate  lines.  So  an  hour  passed  in  confusion  and  nothing 
done.  In  the  meanwhile  the  enemy,  recovering  from  his  first 
astonishment,  began  to  plant  batteries  so  as  to  sweep  the  approaches 
to  the  crater. 

It  was  an  hour  and  a  quarter  after  the  explosion  when  Ferrero's 
colored  division  dashed  forward  gallantly  toward  the  crater,  although 
the  approach  was  swept  by  a  heavy  cross-fire  right  and  left.  Some 
of  them  pressed  through  the  troops  near  the  crater,  partially  formed, 
and  charged  toward  the  crest,  capturing  two  or  three  hundred 
prisoners.  But  they  were  met  by  a  counter-charge  and  broke  and 
fled  in  utter  confusion,  sweeping  back  in  their  flight  many  of  the 
white  troops.  It  was  clear  that  all  chance  of  success  was  past,  so 
Burnside  was  directed  to  abandon  the  crater  and  withdraw  to  his 
intrenchments. 


THE  BURNSIDE  MINE.  197 

But  to  withdraw  now  was  a  work  of  difficulty  and  danger. 
The  space  over  which  the  troops  must  retire  was  now  swept  by  a 
furious  fire  of  musketry  and  artillery.  The  men  within  the  crater 
were  sheltered  by  the  declivity  from  a  direct  fire  ;  but  the  Confed 
erates  had  planted  mortars  from  which  shells  were  rained  down 
among  the  densely  packed  masses.  To  remain  was  as  perilous  as 
to  retreat,  more  perilous  than  it  would  have  been  to  advance.  The 
troops  swarmed  out  in  squads,  losing  fearfully  on  the  way.  Some, 
running  a  few  yards,  dropped  themselves  to  the  ground,  taking  ad 
vantage  of  every  hillock  and  furrow  that  the  surface  afforded  ;  then 
rolling  their  bodies  over  the  ground  to  another  place  of  shelter,  or 
making  another  short  run,  in  this  way  succeeded  in  running  the 
fearful  gauntlet.  General  Hartranft  was  among  the  number  who 
got  safely  back  to  the  Union  lines  by  adopting  these  tactics. 

The  Confederates  charged  fiercely  down  to  the  edge  of  the 
crater  and  were  repulsed  ;  a  second  charge  was  made  ;  the  whole 
mass  broke  and  fled.  It  was  now  past  noon.  For  eight  hours  the 
men  had  been  crowded,  without  water,  under  a  fierce  July  sun, 
within  that  narrow  slaughter-pen.  This  disastrous  attempt  cost 
4,000  men,  of  whom  1,900  were  prisoners,  who  surrendeied  rather 
than  run  the  fierce  guantlet  of  fire.  With  the  exception  of  a  single 
brigade  of  Ord's  Corps,  none  of  the  50,000  men  who  had  been  pre 
pared  for  this  assault,  save  Burnside's  Corps,  were  put  into  action. 
Burnside  had  no  authority  to  call  upon  Warren  or  Ord,  and  Meade 
delayed  until  too  late  to  order  them  into  action. 

The  affair  of  the  mine  was  made  the  subject  of  searching  in 
vestigation  by  a  court  of  inquiry  and  by  the  Congressional  Com 
mittee.  The  court  found  that  this  was  owing  to  the  halting  of  the 
troops  in  the  crater  instead  of  going  forward  to  the  crest  when 
there  was  no  fire  of  consequence  from  the  enemy  ;  and  to  the 
want  of  a  competent  common  head  at  the  scene  of  the  assault  to 
direct  affairs  as  occurrences  should  demand.  They  mildly  censured 
Burnside,  and  sharply  censured  Ledlie  and  Ferrero  for  absolute 
inefficiency,  if  not  cowardice,  in  keeping  themselves  habitually  in  a 
bomb-proof  instead  of  being  present  at  the  assault. 

The  Congressional  Committee  attributed  the  failure  primarily 
to  the  refusal  of  Meade,  sanctioned  by  Grant,  to  permit  the  col 
ored  division  to  lead  the  assault,  and  generally  to  the  fact  that 
"  the  plans  and  suggestions  of  the  general  who  had  devoted  his 
attention  for  so  long  a  time  to  the  subject,  who  had  carried  out  to 
a  successful  completion  the  project  of  mining  the  enemy's  works, 


198  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

and  who  had  carefully  selected  and  drilled  his  troops  for  the  pur 
pose  of  securing  whatever  advantages  might  be  attainable  from  the 
explosion  of  the  mine,  should  have  been  so  entirely  disregarded 
by  a  general  who  had  evinced  no  faith  in  the  successful  prosecu 
tion  of  that  work,  had  aided  it  by  no  countenance  or  open  appro 
val,  and  had  assumed  the  entire  direction  and  control  only  when 
it  was  completed,  and  the  time  had  come  for  reaping  any  advant 
ages  that  might  be  derived  from  it." 

General  Grant,  in  his  testimony,  attributes  the  disaster  to  the 
utter  inefficiency  of  the  division  commanders,  and  especially  to 
the  one  who  was  to  lead  the  advance  of  the  attacking  columns. 
' '  There  was  a  full  half  hour  when  there  was  no  fire  against  our 
men,  and  they  could  have  marched  past  the  enemy's  intrench  - 
ment  just  as  they  could  in  the  open  country ;  but  that  opportunity 
was  lost  in  consequence  of  the  division  commanders  not  going 
with  their  men,  but  allowing  them  to  go  into  the  enemy's  intrench- 
ments  and  spread  themselves  there  without  going  on  farther,  thus 
giving  the  enemy  time  to  collect  and  organize  against  them.  If 
they  had  marched  through  to  the  crest  of  that  ridge  they  would 
have  taken  everything  in  the  rear.  I  do  not  think  there  would 
have  been  any  opposition  at  all  to  our  troops  had  that  been  done." 

Although  Grant  afterward  believed  that  if  Burnside  had  been 
allowed  to  put  his  colored  division  in  the  advance,  "it  would  have 
been  a  success,"  he  still  thought  his  own  refusal  and  that  of  Meade 
to  permit  this  was  at  the  time  right  and  proper.  "We  had," 
he  says,  "but  one  division  of  colored  troops  in  the  whole  army 
about  Petersburg  at  that  time,  and  I  do  not  think  it  would  have 
been  proper  to  put  them  in  front,  for  nothing  but  success 
would  have  justified  it.  The  cause  of  the  disaster  was  simply  the 
leaving  the  passage  of  orders  from  one  to  another  down  to  an  inef 
ficient  man.  I  blame  his  seniors  also,  for  not  seeing  that  he  did 
his  duty,  all  the  way  up  to  myself  "  He  thought  this  commander 
the  poorest  of  all ;  he  knew  that  he  had  been  chosen  simply  by 
lot,  yet  he  adds,  "I  did  nothing  in  regard  to  it." 

Although  the  lieutenant-general  and  the  second  in  command 
were  all  the  while  close  at  hand,  neither  gave  any  practical 
orders  until  the  crisis  was  past.  It  is  inexplicable  that,  out  of 
50,000  men  who  stood  drawn  up  in  battle  order  for  this  very  pur 
pose,  not  a  third  were  ordered  to  advance  for  the  hours  during 
which  the  operation  continued.  In  Warren's  front  the  fire  of  the 
enemy  was  silenced,  and  yet  he  was  never  permitted  to  move  a 


THE  BURNSIDE  MINE.  199 

man  from  his  lines.  "Thus,"  says  Grant,  "  terminated  in  disaster 
what  promised  to  be  the  most  successful  assault  of  the  campaign." 
It  cost  4000  men  to  the  assailants,  while  the  entire  loss  to  the  Con 
federates,  including  the  regiment  blown  up  in  the  fort,  and  the 
prisoners  captured  by  the  colored  division,  were  hardly  a  quarter 
as  many. 

The  battery  expended  eighty-six  rounds  of  ammunition  during 
the  day.  Wellington  F.  Clouser,  from  Berks  County,  was  slightly 
wounded  on  the  chin  by  a  musket  ball.  A  heavy  fire  of  musketry, 
artillery  and  mortars  was  kept  up  throughout  the  night,  which 
ceased  in  the  morning  when  a  Hag  of  truce  approached  the 
enemy's  line,  seeking  permission  to  carry  in  the  Union  wounded. 
The  Confederates  met  the  truce  half  way,  and  a  short  consultation 
was  held,  after  which  the  parties  returned  to  their  respective  lines 
to  await  an  answer  from  higher  Confederate  authority. 

While  the  truce  was  on  the  soldiers  of  both  sides  mounted 
their  works,  and  indulged  in  a  free  and  unmolested  survey  of  their 
surroundings,  a  privilege  they  had  not  enjoyed  since  their  arrival 
on  that  ground.  But  this  freedom  was  of  short  duration,  for  as 
soon  as  the  truce  bearers  had  returned  within  the  line,  the  com 
mand  to  cover  was  given,  and  the  skirmish  fire  resumed.  The 
Union  truce  went  out  several  times  during  the  day,  but  each  time 
fault  was  found  with  the  form  of  the  papers  submitted  ;  so  the 
wounded  lying  between  the  lines  had  to  be  left  another  long  night 
in  their  suffering  with  unattended  wounds  and  exposure  to  the 
constant  fire  of  the  skirmishers.  Quite  a  number  were  lying  under 
the  protection  of  the  bank  of  the  crater. 

The  next  morning,  August  ist,  the  truce  again  went  out,  and 
was  soon  followed  by  a  detail  of  men  with  stretchers,  picks  and 
shovels.  All  was  quiet  along  the  lines.'  The  Confederates  again 
showed  themselves  on  the  top  of  their  works,  and  were  seen  riding 
across  the  open  ground  in  rear  of  their  lines.  The  number  of 
wounded  carried  in  was  small  in  comparison  with  the  number  of 
ambulances  that  were  in  waiting  to  receive  them  in  the  rear  of  Fort 
Morton — only  twelve  or  fifteen.  The  dead — two  hundred  or 
more — were  buried  between  the  lines.  A  large  number  of  the 
dead  and  wounded  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The 
weather  was  excessively  hot,  which  added  much  to  the  suffering  of 
the  wounded,  and  hastened  the  end  of  many  who  had  lain  for  two 
days  between  the  lines  with  no  treatment  for  their  wounds  and 
without  shade  or  water. 


200  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

Firing  on  the  skirmish  line  was  resumed  from  both  sides  as 
soon  as  the  work  of  carrying  in  the  wounded  and  the  burial  of  the 
dead  was  completed.  The  weather  continued  hot  and  troops 
suffered  much  from  the  close  confinement  in  the  trenches.  The 
truce  was,  therefore,  a  great  relief  to  them,  enabling  them  to  enjoy 
the  open  breeze  and  a  pleasant  sense  of  freedom.  But  now  they 
were  obliged  to  return  to  the  trenches  from  which  no  exposure  of 
person  could  be  made  without  drawing  a  shot  from  the  enemy. 

This  was,  however,  not  the  case  along  the  entire  line  of 
investment.  The  Fifth  Corps  line  joined  that  of  the  Ninth  Corps 
a  short  distance  to  the  left  of  Fort  Morton.  There  the  pickets 
were  on  friendly  terms  during  the  day  time,  and  had  been  so  for 
some  time.  The  Confederates  on  that  part  of  the  line  could  be 
seen  from  Fort  Morton,  mounted  on  their  works,  enjoying  a  free 
dom  which  was  the  envy  of  the  Ninth  Corps  men,  and  which 
was,  no  doubt,  equally  so  to  their  immediate  opponents.  But  the 
lines  occupied  by  the  Ninth  Corps  were  in  such  close  proximity  both 
to  Petersburg  and  to  the  enemy' sintrenchments,  that  it  was  deemed 
prudent  to  keep  up  a  continuous  fire,  day  and  night,  as  a  precau 
tionary  measure  against  surprise. 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  201 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG. 

A  FORCE  of  the  engineer  corps  was  immediately  set  to  work 
at  staking  off  ground  for  another  fort  to  adjoin  Fort  Mor 
ton,  upon  which  the   colored   troops  labored  assiduously 
and   speedily  completed  it.      The   firing  along  the  lines  for  a  few 
days  following  the  mine  affair  fell  off  to  a  lull  during  the  day  time, 
with  only  an  occasional  interruption  by  a   cannon   or  mortar  shell, 
fired  at  a  point  where  one  side  or  the  other  saw  more  activity  than 
they  liked.      At  dusk,  however,  the  infantry  commenced  a  rattle  of 
musketry,  which  was  kept  up  until  daylight. 

On  the  night  of  August  3rd,  the  left  section  of  the  battery  was 
sent  on  detached  service  farther  to  the  front;  where  its  guns  were 
posted  in  a  roughly  built  redoubt  on  the  infantry  line  of  intrench- 
ments,  constructed  of  heavy  timbers  with  a  bank  of  earth  piled 
against  them.  It  was  located  about  one  hundred  yards  in  front  of 
Fort  Morton,  on  lower  ground,  which  permitted  the  guns  of  that 
fort  to  fire  over  the  heads  of  the  accupants  of  the  redoubt.  That 
particular  spot  had  been  occupied  by  a  mansion  owned  by  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Taylor,  but  the  building  had  all  been  razed  to  the 
ground  and  a  portion  of  their  timbers  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  fortifications.  The  redoubt,  which  was  named  Taylor  Battery, 
commanded  a  full  range  of  a  ravine  in  rear  of  the  Union  skirmish 
line,  which  its  guns  were  to  sweep  with  canister  in  case  of  an  assault 
by  the  enemy.  Several  large  trees  which  had  formerly  surrounded 
the  mansion,  still  stood,  a  couple  of  them  within  the  inclosure  of 
the  redoubt  occupied  by  the  detached  section.  Four  heavy  mor 
tars  were  also  planted  near  by.  The  position  was  very  much 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy  ;  indeed  there  was  none  more  so 
along  the  whole  line.  When  the  mortars  were  in  action,  the  air 
became  heavily  charged  with  fragments  of  shell,  and  the  earth  torn 
up  by  the  bursting  projectiles.  Some  of  these  explosives  blew  out 
holes  in  the  ground  large  enough  to  bury  two  horses.  The  day 
after  the  section  occupied  Taylor  Battery,  the  men  set  to  work  and 
built  a  magazine  for  the  protection  of  the  ammunition,  which  was 
dangerously  exposed  to  the  enemy's  shells. 


202  DURELL'S    BATTERY. 

A  short  time  before  dusk  on  the  evening  of  the  5th,  some 
alarm  was  created  by  an  attempt  made  by  the  Confederates  to  blow 
up  a  fort  on  the  line  of  the  Eighteenth  Corps,  a  short  distance  to  the 
right  of  Taylor  Battery.  A  lively  cannonade  was  opened  on  both 
sides  and  mortar  shells  dropped  upon  every  hand.  The  Union 
soldiers  by  some  chance  having  discovered  that  the  enemy  was 
mining  at  that  point,  sunk  a  shaft  in  front  of  the  fort,  and  with  the 
aid  of  a  drum  placed  therein,  heard  the  sound  of  the  picks  at 
work.  Another  fort  was  built  in  the  rear  of  the  one  being  under 
mined,  the  guns  removed  to  it,  and  wooden  guns  placed  in  the 
one  abandoned.  The  scheme  of  the  enemy  proved  a  failure,  how 
ever,  as  the  shaft  which  had  been  sunk,  made  a  vent  and  destroyed 
the  effect  of  the  explosion,  which  tore  out  only  a  small  portion  of  the 
breast  of  the  fort.  It  was  followed  by  an  assault  from  the  enemy's 
infantry,  but  the  Union  troops  being  in  readiness  to  meet  it,  they 
were  driven  back  to  their  lines  with  considerable  loss.  Quite  a 
heavy  battle  raged  for  about  an  hour. 

While  the  Union  lines  were  being  strengthened  by  the  build 
ing  of  another  fort  in  close  proximity  to  Fort  Morton,  the  Confed 
erates  were  engaged  in  the  construction  of  a  large  fort  on  the  crest 
of  Cemetery  Hill  in  rear  of  the  crater.  The  guns  in  Taylor  Bat 
tery  occasionally  opened  upon  this  new  work  with  percussion  shell, 
some  of  which  struck  and  tore  great  holes  in  their  fortifications. 
The  guns  of  Fort  Morton  frequently  hurled  their  projectiles  over 
the  heads  of  the  occupants  of  Taylor  Battery  into  the  enemy's 
lines.  On  the  8th,  one  of  DurelPs  guns,  and  one  gun  of  the  Third 
Vermont  Battery,  which  was  also  posted  in  Fort  Morton,  engaged 
in  quite  a  prolonged  target  practice  on  some  houses  located  on  the 
crest  of  the  hill,  which  had  afforded  protection  to  the  enemy's 
sharpshooters.  Durell's  gun  aimed  at  a  large  frame  house,  but 
while  the  building  was  struck  several  times  it  could  not  be  set  afire. 

The  weather  was  very  hot  and  caused  much  suffering  among 
the  troops,  some  of  which  had  now  been  for  nearly  two  months  con 
fined  in  the  trenches.  They  were  annoyed  also  by  flies  in  the  day 
time  and  by  mosquitoes  at  night,  to  say  nothing  of  the  incessant 
ordeal  of  mortar  shells  and  sharpshooter's  bullets  to  which  they 
were  subjected.  A  ration  of  whiskey  was  served  to  the  men  of  the 
battery  on  the  evening  of  the  loth.  Whether  it  was  intended  to 
kill  malaria  germs  or  infuse  courage  in  the  timid  was  not  learned. 
But  it  did  neither,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  treatment  was  not 
continued  long  enough  to  produce  any  positive  results.  The  one 
ration  was  the  Alpha  and  Omego  in  the  course  of  the  treatment. 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  203 

As  Taylor  Battery  seemed  to  be  a  special  object  for  the  enemy's 
mortar  fire,  its  occupants  concluded  to  build  a  bomb-proof  for  their 
protection.  No  sooner  had  it  been  completed  than  the  mortars 
opened  with  a  heavy  shower  of  shells  which  fell  in  and  around  the 
fortification.  The  second  shell  that  dropped  in  the  vicinity  struck 
the  bank  of  earth  which  covered  the  top  of  the  bomb-proof  and  ex 
ploded,  throwing  a  large  quantity  of  dirt  to  the  farthest  limit  of  the 
fortification,  wrecking  the  bomb-proof.  The  projectile  did  not, 
however,  penetrate  the  timbers,  but  the  concussion  displaced  them. 
Corporal  Robert  Conard,  from  Bucks  County,  gunner  of  the  third 
piece,  received  a  slight  wound  during  this  affray.  After  this  occur 
rence  the  consuming  desire  for  a  bomb-proof  was  allayed,  the  men 
prefering  to  seek  refuge  by  hugging  the  breastworks  during  a  shower 
of  mortar  shells. 

A  heavy  rain  set  in  on  the  i4th,  which  continued  for  several 
days  and  broke  the  long  drought.  The  trenches  were  flooded  and 
at  some  points  the  breastworks  were  washed  away.  At  others  they 
caved  in.  About  a  hundred  yards  of  the  infantry  line  near  Taylor 
Battery  caved,  almost  burying  some  of  the  men.  Their  muskets 
and  ammunition  were  rendered  unserviceable  by  water  and  mud, 
and  for  a  time,  none  but  the  sharpshooters,  who  used  metallic  car 
tridges,  were  able  to  reply  to  the  enemy's  infantry.  But  the  Con 
federates  must  have  suffered  equally  as  much,  as  their  works  were 
so  situated  as  to  receive  all  the  water  from  Cemetery  Hill.  When 
it  was  learned  that  a  portion  of  the  line  had  caved  in,  every  man 
was  commanded  to  be  in  readiness  to  receive  an  assault  from  the 
enemy.  They  were  probably  adopting  the  same  precautionary 
measures.  The  men  in  Taylor  Battery  were  all  swamped  out  of 
their  quarters  and  drenched  by  the  rain.  The  magazine  began  to 
fill  with  water,  so  that  the  ammunition  had  to  be  taken  out  and 
placed  under  a  tarpaulin.  The  works  were  repaired  during  the 
following  night,  after  which  they  were  probably  stronger  than  they 
had  been  before  the  storm. 

The  members  of  the  battery  who  had  not  re- enlisted  were 
now  counting  the  days  that  yet  remained  of  their  term  of  service, 
which  would  expire  on  September  24th,  and  indulging  in  glowing 
speculations  on  the  prospect  of  soon  returning  to  their  homes  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  comforts  and  good  things  of  civil  life.  Lieu 
tenants  Silvis  and  Leoser  announced  their  intention  of  returning 
home  at  the  same  time,  and  were  quite  as  eager  for  the  day  to 
hasten  as  the  men  were.  Lieutenant  Leoser,  however,  was  obliged 
to  leave  on  the  iyth,  on  sick  leave. 


204  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

Nothing  unusual  occurred  after  the  washout  until  midnight  of 
the  1 8th,  when  all  hands  were  aroused  from  sleep  by  the  thunder 
of  the  Confederate  artillery,  which  opened  along  the  entire  front 
of  Petersburg,  with  a  terrific  fire  of  their  heavy  guns  and  mortars. 
It  was  at  first  supposed  that  this  shower  of  projectiles  would  be 
followed  by  an  assault  by  his  infantry,  and  every  man  was  ordered 
to  his  post  to  meet  it.  The  Union  artillery  made  but  a  feeble 
reply,  Taylor  Battery  responding  with  a  few  shots.  This  point 
was  exposed  to  a  raking  fire  of  the  enemy's  Whitworth  guns  on 
the  right,  a  number  of  the  shells  and  shrapnel  from  which  ex 
ploded  immediately  over  the  battery,  and  the  solid  shot  cut  large 
limbs  from  the  trees  on  the  line  of  the  fortification,  which  fell  with 
a  crash,  adding  another  source  of  terror  and  danger  to  the  men  in 
the  works.  It  was  thought  that  a  solid  shot  from  those  terrible 
Whitworth  guns  would  easily  go  through  the  earth  and  timbers  of 
the  fortification.  But  none  of  them  struck  the  works,  and  not  a 
man  of  the  left  section  was  scratched.  The  right  section,  back  in 
Fort  Morton,  was  not  so  fortunate.  There  William  Ganster,  from 
Berks  County,  received  a  wound  in  the  ankle  by  a  shrapnel  ball, 
lacerating  it  so  badly  that  amputation  below  the  knee  was  necessary. 
George  F.  Ludwig,  from  Berks  County,  was  also  slightly  wounded 
in  the  back  by  a  fragment  of  shell.  The  bombardment  was  kept 
up  for  two  hours. 

At  the  same  hour  on  the  following  night  the  enemy  again 
began  to  bombard  with  increased  fury.  The  guns  in  the  new  fort 
on  Cemetery  Hill,  in  the  immediate  front  of  Taylor  Battery,  also 
opened.  The  most  trying  fire  on  this  occasion  came  from  one  of 
their  heavy  guns  to  the  left,  which  commanded  a  sweeping  range  of 
Taylor  Battery.  Solid  shot  crashed  through  the  large  trees  and  shells 
exploded  thick  and  fast.  It  was  the  hottest  fire  the  battery  had  as 
yet  endured ;  a  veritable  hell  on  earth.  Not  a  shot  was  sent  in 
reply  either  from  Taylor  Battery  or  Fort  Morton,  and  the  other 
forts  along  the  Union  line  were  comparatively  silent.  So  the  men 
had  nothing  to  do  but  to  lie  close  to  the  breast  works,  which  they 
hugged  tightly  as  the  only  place  of  safety  available,  and  would 
have  crept  into  them  if  they  could.  The  bombardment  continued 
until  near  daybreak. 

While  the  shots  were  yet  flying  thick  and  fast,  orders  were 
received  to  pack  up  and  be  in  readiness  to  be  relieved.  These 
orders  were  anticipated  from  the  fact  that  Ninth  Corps  troops  had 
for  several  nights  past  been  relieved  by  troops  of  the  Eighteenth 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  205 

Corps,  which  were  withdrawn  to  take  part  in  a  movement  with 
Warren's  Fifth  Corps  for  the  capture  of  the  Weldon  Railroad,  which 
had  commenced  on  the  i8th,  and  which  accounted  for  the  fierce 
bombardment  from  the  enemy  during  the  past  two  nights.  The 
left  section  was  relieved  by  a  section  of  the  ist  Pennsylvania  Artil 
lery,  and  the  right  section,  stationed  in  Fort  Morton,  was  relieved 
by  adding  two  more  3  2 -pound  guns  to  the  number  of  that  calibre 
already  occupying  the  fort.  The  centre  section  was  not  relieved 
until  the  2ist.  The  drivers  went  up  to  the  front  with  their  horses 
at  the  close  of  the  bombardment,  when  the  pieces  were  drawn 
out  of  the  fortifications  which  they  had  occupied  for  twenty-five 
days  and  taken  to  the  caisson  camp. 

After  breakfast  the  battery  camp  was  moved  about  a  mile,  and 
established  in  close  proximity  to  corps  headquarters.  Rain  fell 
nearly  all  day  long,  and  the  men  got  wet  before  the  quarters  were 
completed.  The  camp  was  a  very  pleasant  one,  some  of  the 
tents  being  comfortably  provided  with  bunks  and  other  desirable 
furnishings.  In  the  night  the  Confederates  again  opened  a  bom 
bardment  at  the  usual  time.  Two  of  their  solid  shots  flew  to  the 
rear  close  to  the  battery  camp. 


206  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
WELDON  RAILROAD  AND  REAM'S  STATION. 

GENERAL  Warren  had  moved  against  the  Weldon  Railroad 
on  the  1 8th  and  seized  it  at  a  point  four  miles  below  Peters 
burg.  The  next  day  Lee  suddenly  made  an  attack  upon 
Warren  with  a  powerful  force.  A  wide  space  between  the  latter 
and  Burnside  had  by  some  mischance  been  left  uncovered.  Into 
this  gap  Lee  thrust  Mahone's  Division,  striking  Warren's  right  and 
gaining  its  rear,  throwing  the  whole  line  into  confusion.  A  small 
force  from  the  Ninth  Corps  came  upon  the  scene  opportunely, 
when  Warren  struck  back  and  drove  his  assailants  in  confusion 
within  their  lines. 

On  the  2oth  all  was  quiet,  but  the  time  was  wisely  passed  in 
strengthening  the  position,  which,  it  could  not  be  doubted,  the 
enemy  would  attempt  to  regain.  On  the  morning  of  the  2ist, 
having  massed  thirty  guns,  he  opened  a  fierce  fire,  under  cover  of 
which  a  heavy  infantry  force  advanced  to  the  attack.  They 
encountered  a  fire  so  severe  that  they  broke  and  fled  in  confusion, 
leaving  behind  hundreds  of  prisoners.  So  the  Weldon  Railroad 
was  won,  at  heavy  cost,  after  three  days'  struggle.  The  battery 
marched  at  noon  for  the  scene  of  this  battle,  over  very  bad  roads 
through  woods,  in  which  its  gun  carriages  were  several  times  stuck, 
and  reached  Ninth  Corps  headquarters  at  dark. 

The  next  morning  it  was  called  up  early  and  ordered  to  be  in 
readiness  to  move.  It  stood  under  these  orders  until  4  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  horses  were  unhitched.  The  23rd  was  a 
very  warm  day.  The  Second  Corps  marched  by  on  quick  time  to 
the  left,  on  the  return  from  the  feint  movement  it  had  made 
against  Deep  Bottom.  On  the  following  afternoon  the  battery- 
men  were  called  into  line  to  sign  the  pay-roll,  and  in  the  evening 
received  four  months'  pay — the  first  money  obtained  on  the  new 
enlistment. 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th  the  battery  marched  back  to  the 
camp  it  had  left  on  the  2ist  and  fixed  up  comfortable  quarters. 
But  the  pieces  were  called  out  in  the  afternoon  and  hurried  off, 
without  their  caissons,  to  reinforce  Hancock,  who  was  then  engaged 


WELDON  RAILROAD  AND  REAM'S  STATION.  207 

in  a  terrible  fight  with  Hill  at  Ream's  Station,  in  which  he  came 
nearly  being  overpowered  by  superior  numbers.  The  men  were 
ordered  to  leave  tents  and  knapsacks  behind,  and  take  nothing 
with  them  but  a  blanket.  The  battery  was  assigned  to  the  Third 
Division  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  which,  with  a  division  of  the  Fifth 
Corps,  drawn  from  the  intrenchments,  was  pushed  rapidly  down 
the  Jerusalem  plank  road  to  the  aid  of  Hancock. 

The  din  of  battle,  which  grew  more  distinct  as  the  column 
pressed  on,  indicated  that  a  hard  fight  was  in  progress.  But  the 
reinforcements  did  not  reach  the  field  in  time  to  render  material 
assistance.  Hancock  was  overwhelmed  and  driven  back,  losing 
several  batteries  of  artillery.  He,  however,  formed  his  shattered 
columns  on  a  new  line  to  receive  another  assault.  Night  put  an 
end  to  the  contest,  and  Hancock  in  the  darkness  withdrew.  Hill, 
not  suspecting  how  small  was  the  force  opposed  to  him,  also  with 
drew  at  the  same  time. 

Durell's  Battery  went  into  position  with  the  division  near  the 
plank  road  to  protect  Hancock's  right,  the  right  section  being  in 
advance.  At  10  o'clock  the  Second  Corps  began  to  pass  on  the 
way  back  towards  Petersburg,  and  at  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
battery  limbered  up  and  withdrew,  reaching  the  point  where  the 
camp  had  been  located  at  daylight,  but  it  was  gone.  It  had  been 
moved  back  to  the  same  place  it  had  occupied  when  the  battery 
was  relieved  from  the  intrenchments,  and  here  the  pieces  soon  after 
ward  joined  it. 

A  system  of  daily  drills  was  now  begun  under  the  supervision 
of  Lieutenant  Rhoads,  who  claimed  that  the  battery  was  not  up  to 
the  proper  degree  of  proficiency  in  this  respect.  Inspections  were 
also  frequent,  and  a  strict  compliance  with  the  rules  regarding 
cleanliness  and  good  condition  of  the  camp,  accoutrements,  etc., 
was  enforced. 

On  the  3oth,  the  battery  again  marched  out  to  the  left  wing 
of  the  lines  investing  Petersburg,  and  encamped  near  corps  head 
quarters.  The  colored  division  had  been  taken  away  from  the 
Ninth  Corps  soon  after  the  mine  affair,  and  had  been  distributed 
throughout  the  army  to  build  earthworks,  etc.  Later,  these  troops 
were  attached  to  the  25th  Corps  The  batteries  of  each  army 
corps  were  now  formed  into  an  artillery  brigade,  commanded  by  an 
officer  of  the  regular  army,  who  assigned  batteries  to  duty  with 
brigades  and  divisions  of  the  corps  upon  starting  on  a  movement, 
or  when  about  to  go  into  action. 


208  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

On  the  afternoon  of  September  ist,  the  right  and  centre  sec 
tions  of  Durell's  Battery  placed  their  guns  in  position  for  action 
about  half  a  mile  from  camp,  to  support  the  cavalry  pickets  on  the 
extreme  left.  The  enemy's  cavalry  were  pretty  active  and  had 
driven  in  the  Union  cavalry  pickets  on  the  previous  evening.  All 
hands  were  called  up  at  3  o'clock  on  the  following  morning  and 
ordered  to  be  in  readiness  to  move.  This  order  was  kept  in  force 
until  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  left  section  was  taken 
out  and  posted  beside  the  right.  The  time  was  improved  in  forti 
fying,  a  detail  of  colored  troops  assisting  in  the  work.  All  the 
troops  that  could  be  spared  from  the  Petersburg  front  were  now 
building  intrenchments  and  forts.  Nearly  the  entire  force  of  the 
battery  was  set  to  work  upon  the  construction  of  a  fort.  In  a  few 
days  a  line  of  intrenchments  was  constructed  around  the  rear  from 
the  extreme  left  to  the  James  River,  for  the  protection  of  the  mili 
tary  railroad  which  was  in  course  of  building  around  the  rear  of 
the  Union  line. 

On  the  8th,  the  pieces  were  taken  back  to  the  caisson  camp. 
The  guns  were  cleaned  and  new  clothing  issued  to  the  men.  On 
the  1 5th,  the  right  and  left  sections  were  moved  to  the  front,  the 
centre  section  remaining  in  camp.  The  right  section  was  posted 
in  a  fortification  designated  as  Battery  No.  i,  and  the  left  section 
in  a  similar  structure  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  further  along  the 
line,  kno  vn  as  Battery  No.  2.  The  latter  was  a  very  commodious 
and  complete  piece  of  military  architecture,  containing  a  spring  of 
water  within  its  limits,  and  ample  room  to  pitch  the  tents  of  the 
garrison.  The  woods  had  been  cut  away  from  the  front  of  the 
lines  for  a  distance  of  about  500  yards,  and  two  lines  of  abatis 
were  constructed.  The  picket  line  was  established  a  mile  in  front. 
It  was  attacked  the  next  morning  after  the  two  sections  had  posted 
their  guns  in  these  forts,  and  the  pickets  driven  back  a  short  dis 
tance  but  the  enemy  did  not  approach  within  sight  of  the  artillery. 
A  detail  of  men  from  the  infantry  was  sent  to  the  forts  to  make 
barbette  platforms  for  the  pieces. 

Nine  recruits  from  Pittsburg  reached  the  battery  on  the  i6th. 
This  was  the  first  of  several  squads  of  recruits  to  arrive  as  rein 
forcements  of  the  ranks  soon  to  be  depleted  by  the  expiration  of 
the  term  of  service  of  the  men  who  had  not  veteranized.  The 
military  railroad  was  now  in  operation  from  City  Point  to  the  Wei- 
don  Railroad.  It  was  a  novelty  in  railroad  construction.  There 
was  no  grading  of  any  account  ;  the  ties  were  laid  on  the  surface 


WELDON   RAILROAD  AND  REAM'S  STATION.  209 

of  the  ground  without  ballast ;  the  tracks  ran  up  and  down  over  hill 
and  dale.  Heavy  trains  of  ammunition  and  supplies  passed  over 
the  road,  and  when  at  the  top  of  a  grade  or  hill,  a  full  head  of 
steam  was  put  on,  to  give  the  train  sufficient  momentum  to  carry 
it  up  the  next  grade.  If  it  did  not  succeed,  the  train  was  backed 
down  across  the  hollow  and  a  fresh  start  was  taken.  Sometimes, 
with  the  aid  of  troops  pushing,  it  was  carried  over  the  ascent. 
This  railroad  rendered  very  valuable  service  to  the  army.-  If  a 
small  body  of  troops  was  needed  at  any  part  of  the  investing  line, 
the  men  were  put  on  the  cars,  and  carried  in  a  short  time  to  the 
point  where  they  were  wanted.  It  also  saved  the  poor  mules  from 
dragging  heavy  loads  through  mud  from  City  Point,  later  in  the 
season  when  the  roads  became  bad. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  2oth,  as  the  men  were  lolling  in  and 
about  their  quarters,  their  attention  was  suddenly  attracted  by  the 
sound  of  cheering  which  came  from  a  point  a  short  distance  down 
the  line.  Every  one  turned  out  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  enthu 
siasm,  many  supposing  General  Grant  or  some  other  officer  high  in 
command  to  be  passing  by.  Presently  two  mounted  officers  were 
seen  to  be  reading  to  a  crowd  of  soldiers  who  surrounded  them. 
As  soon  as  the  officers  had  finished,  the  soldiers  again  broke  out  in 
cheers  followed  by  a  vigorous  "tiger."  The  officers  then  put 
spurs  to  their  steeds  and  flew  to  the  next  regiment,  where  the  same 
scene  was  enacted.  The  men  of  the  battery  fell  into  line  to 
receive  them.  They  stopped  and  read  the  official  announce 
ment  of  Sheridan's  victory  over  Early,  who  had  been  sent  ''whirl 
ing  through  Winchester. ' '  It  was  glorious  news  for  the  army  invest 
ing  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and  had  a  stimulating  effect  on  the 
courage  of  the  men,  who  had  worked  and  fought  in  the  trenches 
for  months  with  apparently  little  results.  By  order  of  General 
Grant,  all  the  cannon  bearing  on  Petersburg  indulged  in  a  shotted 
salute  on  the  following  morning,  in  celebration  of  the  victory. 
They  were  fired  with  a  will  and  caused  a  heavy  cannonade  for 
about  an  hour. 


210  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
MUSTER  OUT  OF  THREE  YEARS'  MEN. 

^  I  ^HK  old  members  of  the   battery  who   had   not   re-enlisted, 
JL        were  ordered,  on  September  23rd,  to  get  in  readiness  for 
their  departure,  and  were  mustered  out  of  their  three  years' 
term  of  service  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.     They  left  their  vete 
ran  comrades  at  the  front  and  marched  back  to  the  caisson  camp, 
a  band  of  happy  fellows,  expecting  to  start  for  home  on  the  mili 
tary  railroad  in  the  evening  ;   but,  for  some  reason,  they  were  de 
tained  until  the  next  morning. 

Captain  Durell,  who  had  a  few  days  previous  returned  to  his 
command  from  sick  leave,  also  left  the  battery  at  this  time.  The 
men  who  remained  with  the  battery  were  called  into  line,  and  the 
esteemed  and  honored  old  captain  addressed  them  in  parting  words 
of  affection  and  advice.  He  had  intended  to  remain  with  the  com 
mand,  and  had  made  that  promise  to  the  men  who  had  re-enlisted, 
but  his  health  had  become  such  that  he  could  remain  no  longer  in 
the  service.  He  was  very  sorry  to  leave  them,  he  said.  The  bat 
tery  enjoyed  a  good  reputation  everywhere,  and  he  expressed  the 
hope  that  its  good  name  would  be  sustained  in  the  performance  of 
every  future  duty  which  it  would  be  called  upon  to  perform.  If 
the  new  men  would  follow  the  teaching  and  example  of  the  vete 
rans  of  the  battery,  its  honor  would  be  maintained. 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  address  the  captain  passed  down  the 
line,  bidding  each  man  farewell  with  a  fervent  grasp  of  the  hand  ; 
then,  with  a  "  God  bless  and  preserve  you  all,"  he  left  the  battery 
which  he  had  commanded  with  such  great  credit  through  three  years 
of  eventful,  active  service.  The  veterans  sincerely  regretted  the 
loss  of  their  chief  who  had  hitherto  led  them  to  battle,  and  deeply 
sympathized  with  him  on  account  of  the  circumstances  which  com 
pelled  him  to  leave  the  service.  He  was  like  a  father  to  the  men 
of  his  command — always  watchful  of  their  interests  and  welfare. 
He  frequently  called  them  his  "  boys,"  and  regarded  them  with  an 
affection  almost  paternal. 

The  following  is  the  roll  of  the  detachment  of  the  battery  mus 
tered  out  of  service  near  the  Weldon  Railroad,  Va. ,  September 


MUSTER  OUT  OF  THREE  YEARS'   MEN.  211 

23rd,  1864,  by  |.  W.   French,  2nd  Lieutenant  U.  S.  Infantry,  Act 
ing  Commissioner  of  Muster,  Second  Division,  Ninth  Army  Corps  : 

Quarter- Master  Sergeant,  Azariah  L.  Ratz,  Berks  County. 

Sergeants — H.  Frank  Bender,  Honeybrooke,  Pa. 
CORPORALS. 

Amos  Bechtel,  Berks  County. 

Mahlon  B.  Buckman,  Bucks  County. 

I.  Carey  Carver,  Buckingham,  Bucks  County. 

George  R.  Carver,  Buckingham,  Bucks  County. 

Robert  Conard,  Buckingham,  Bucks  County. 

Oliver  D.  Giffins,  Lehigh  County. 

Bertolet  Y.  Yoder,  Berks  County. 

Artificer — John  R.  Rice,  Doylestown,  Fa. 

Artificer — Charles  H.  MacCorkle,  Newportville,  Bucks  County. 
PRIVATES. 

Benjamin  Albright,  Hilltown,  Bucks  County. 

Daniel  I).  Althouse,  Berks  County. 

Amos  Antrim,  Oley,  Berks  County. 

Stephen  B.  Bechert,  F^xeter,  Berks  County. 

Valentine  G.  Bissey,  Doylestown,  Pa. 

Thomas  L.  Breece,  Tyburn,  Bucks  County. 

William  K.  Cleaver,  Berks  County. 

George  Douglass,  Hulmeville,  Bucks  County. 

Cyrus  Davidheiser,  Oley,  Berks  County. 

William  Dunlap,  Berks  County. 

Gottlieb  Fageley,  Hilltown,  Bucks  County. 

Jesse  D.  Foulke,  Quakertown,  Pa. 

Jacob  Franks,  Bucks  County. 

Michael  Frey,  Adams  County,  Pa. 

Richard  S.  Garber,  Oley,  Berks  County. 

Isaac  R.  Good,  Alsace,  Berks  County. 

Hiram  G.  Grove,  Amity,  Berks  County. 

Henry  Hargrave,   Doylestown. 

Henry  B.  Hearing,  Hilltown,  Bucks  County. 

Monroe  Jenkins,  Hilltown,  Bucks  County. 

Samuel  Johnston,  Reading. 

Amos  Knabb,  Reading. 

Oliver  C.  Leidy,  Bucks  County. 

Joseph  Lear,  Solebury,  Bucks  County. 

Ezra  McKinstry,  Plumstead,  Bucks  County. 

Paniel  W.  Noll,  Alsace,  Berks  County. 


212  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

Joseph  H.  Ney,  Honeybrooke,  Pa. 

James  S.  Rich,  Buckingham,  Bucks  County. 

Henry  M.  Seagrist,  Bucks  County. 

Henry  Sclichter,  Berks  County. 

Patrick  Scanlon,  Doylestown. 

Emanuel  Wolfe,  Doylestown. 

Edward  H.  White,  Solebury,  Bucks  County. 

William  J.  Wealthy,  Philadelphia. 

The  roll  also  contained  the  following  who  were  absent : 

Sergeant,  John  O.  Burden,  Pottstown,  Pa.,  on  detached  ser 
vice  by  orders  from  headquarters,  Department  of  Ohio,  since  Oc 
tober  3rd,  1863. 

William  P.  Andrews,  Doylestown,  sick  in  hospital  at  Washing 
ton,  D.  C. ,  since  April  2yth,  1864. 

James  Bissey,  Buckingham,  Bucks  County,  sick  in  hospital  at 
Upton's  Hill,  Va.,  since  March  9th,  1862. 

Valentine  Bloomer,  Bucks  County,  sick  in  hospital  at  Alexan 
dria,  Va.,  since  May  3rd,  1864. 

Henry  L.  Buck,  Amity,  Berks  County,  sick  in  hospital  at 
Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  since  August  23rd,  1863. 

Henry  Clymer,  Line  Lexington,  Bucks  County,  sick  in  hos 
pital  at  Covington,  Ky. ,  since  November  9th,  1863. 

Robert  W.  Creighton,  Philadelphia,  sick  in  hospital  at 
Upton's  Hill,  Va. ,  since  March  icjth,  1862. 

Urias  H.  Engel,  Amity,  Berks  County,  sick  in  hospital  at 
Upton's  Hill,  Va.,  since  April  2nd,  1862. 

Jacob  S.  Foster,  Bucks  County,  sick  in  hospital  at  Baltimore, 
Md. ,  since  March  26th,  1864. 

Isaac  S.  Knowles,  Bucks  County,  sick  in  hospital  at  Alexan 
dria,  Va.,  since  April  29th,  1864. 

Richard  S.  Lewis,  Reading,  sick  in  hospital  at  Camp  Denni 
son,  Ohio,  since  August  23rd,  1863. 

Henry  Lenhart,  Bucks  County,  sick  in  hospital  at  Alexandria, 
Va. ,  since  May  3rd,  1864. 

Henry  Miller,  Berks  County,  sick  in  hospital  at  Baltimore, 
Md. ,  since  March  26th,  1864. 

Isaiah  J.  Sellers,  Hilltown,  Bucks  County,  wounded  at  Antie- 
tam,  in  hospital  since  September  lyth,  1862. 

Martin  H.  Smith,  Doylestown,  sick  in  hospital  at  Camp  Den 
nison,  Ohio,  since  August  23rd,  1863. 


MUSTER  OUT  OF  THREE  YEARS'   MEN.  213 

Captain  George  W.  Durell  was  mustered  out  some  time  after 
ward  at  Harrisburg,  where  he  experienced  some  trouble  in  settling 
his  account  with  the  government,  and  Lieutenant  George  W. 
Silvis,  who  remained  a  few  days  longer  with  the  battery,  was  also 
mustered  out  afterward.  Lieutenant  Christopher  Leoser,  whose 
term  would  not  have  expired  until  May  12,  1865,  resigned  on 
account  of  physical  disability  per  Special  Order,  Headquarters 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  No.  276,  on  October  12,  1864.  He  was 
at  this  time  at  home  on  sick  leave. 

After  the  departure  of  Captain  Durell,  Lieutenant  Rhoads 
left  the  caisson  camp,  of  which  he  had  been  in  command,  for  the 
front,  and  with  a  speech  and  petition  for  signatures,  endeavored  to 
secure  the  aid  of  the  company  to  obtain  the  captaincy.  A  petition 
was  at  the  same  time  circulated  in  the  interest  of  Lieutenant 
Henry  Sailor  for  first  place,  which  received  a  handsome  majority  of 
the  names  of  the  company,  but  the  influence  of  Captain  Durell 
was  exerted  upon  Governor  Curtin  in  behalf  of  Lieutenant  Rhoads, 
and  he  received  his  commission  as  captain  a  few  days  after  the 
departure  of  Durell.  The  men  accepted  the  appointment  philo 
sophically  and  as  good  soldiers  are  wont  to  do,  and  very  little  friction 
in  the  discipline  and  harmony  of  the  command  resulted. 

The  battery  was  now  short  of  men,  but  the  occasional  arrival 
of  small  squads  of  recruits  swelled  the  ranks  to  the  required  num 
ber  in  a  few  weeks.  They  came  from  different  points  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  a  few  of  them  being  substitutes  and  drafted  men.  The 
appointments  of  the  non-commissioned  officers  under  the  reorga 
nization  were  announced  after  the  Sunday  morning  inspection  on 
the  25th,  and  were  as  follows  : 

Orderly  Sergeant — Harrison  G.  Bouse,  Reading,   no  change. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant — James  L.  Mast,  from  fourth  duty 
sergeant,  Reading. 

DUTY  SERGEANTS. 

First.  Adley  B.  Lawrence,  from  fifth  sergeant,  Chester 
County. 

Second.      Samuel  K.  Whitner,  not  promoted,  Berks  County. 
Third.      Charles  A.  Guffel,  from  ninth  corporal,  Doylestown. 
Fourth.      John  L.  Lewis,  from  private,  Montgomery  County. 
Fifth.      Stuart  McAleese,  from  private,  Bucks  County. 
Sixth.      Abraham  D.  Blondin,  not  promoted,  Bucks  County. 


214  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

CORPORALS. 

First.      Jacob  Bauer,  from  private,  Chester  County. 

Second.      Henry  Dease,  from  private,  Reading. 

Third.      Aaron  Martin,  from  private,  Reading. 

Fourth.      George  Hart,  not  promoted,  Reading. 

Fifth.      John  B.  Jones,  from  private,  New  York  State. 

Sixth.      John  W.  Morris,  from  private,  Reading. 

Seventh.      Andrew  J.  Schweimler,  not  promoted,  Reading. 

Eighth.      Jacob  L.  Beam,  not  promoted,  Chester  County. 

Ninth.      Edward  Barker,  from  private,  New  York  State. 

Tenth.      Henry  Gratil,  not  promoted,  Reading. 

Eleventh.      Elias  K.  Cooper,  from  private,  Bucks  County. 

Twelfth.  William  H.  Quaintance,  from  private,  Chester 
County. 

The  promotions  to  commissioned  officers  could  not  be  made 
until  Lieutenants  Silvis  and  Leoser  were  mustered  out,  which  oc 
curred  a  few  weeks  later. 

On  the  26th  the  battery  received  orders  to  get  everything  in 
readiness  to  move  at  once.  The  limbers  were  sent  to  the  forts  for 
the  pieces,  while  the  horses  were  being  hitched  to  the  caissons  and 
the  camp  equipage  packed  up.  In  due  time  the  battery  moved 
from  camp  and  marched  out  on  the  corduroy  road  about  a  mile  to 
the  Jones  House,  where  it  went  into  park. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  the  command  was  reviewed  and 
inspected  by  Colonel  Monroe,  chief  of  artillery  of  the  Ninth  Army 
Corps.  A  short  field  drill  followed,  after  which  it  returned  to  camp 
and  found  that  most  welcome  guest  in  waiting — the  army  paymas 
ter.  He  disbursed  two  months'  pay  besides  two  instalments  of 
bounty  to  the  veterans.  The  first  instalment  of  bounty  had  not 
been  paid  on  the  previous  pay-day,  owing  to  faulty  pay-rolls.  The 
veterans  each  received  $132,  which  imparted  a  sense  of  security 
and  confidence  in  their  ability  to  rough  it  through  the  coming 
winter.  The  men  had  furnished  their  quarters  which  were  pro 
vided  with  bunks,  expecting  to  remain  some  time  in  this  camp,  but 
their  plans  were  undone  at  midnight,  when  orders  were  received 
to  be  ready  to  march  early  in  the  morning. 


PEEBLES'   FARIVI  AND  POPLAR  GROVE  CHURCH.  215 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

PEEBLES'    FARM  AND  POPLAR  GROVE  CHURCH. 

THK  bugle  sounded  the  reveille  at  2  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  September  29th.  The  horses  belonging  to  the  four 
pieces  that  were  in  position  at  the  front  were  immediately 
harnessed  and  sent  to  their  respective  detachments,  while  the 
luggage  in  camp  was  packed  and  the  two  remaining  pieces  and  all 
of  the  caissons  were  gotten  in  readiness  to  move.  Everything 
being  ready  at  3.30,  the  command  marched  off  to  the  left,  passing 
the  camp  ground  that  the  battery  had  occupied  a  few  days  before. 
At  daybreak  it  pulled  into  park  and  awaited  further  orders,  but 
none  were  received  until  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  these  were 
to  unhitch  and  unharness.  Heavy  firing  was  in  progress  at  the 
front  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  at  dusk  the  cheering  news  of  Ord's 
and  Birney's  victory  on  the  right  was  received,  and  that  the  fight 
ing  at  the  front  had  resulted  in  driving  the  enemy. 

On  the  3oth,  two  divisions  of  Warren's  and  two  of  the  Ninth 
Corps,  now  commanded  by  General  Parke,  moved  to  the  left  and 
captured  some  of  the  enemy's  works  at  Peebles'  Farm  and  held 
them.  The  battery  received  orders  early  in  the  morning  to  be 
ready  to  move,  but  it  was  noon  before  it  was  ordered  forward. 
Advancing  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  it  again  awaited  further  orders. 
Shortly  afterward  heavy  firing,  both  of  artillery  and  musketry, 
opened  but  a  short  distance  away  in  front.  Two  lines  of  the 
enemy's  breastworks  and  a  large  fort  with  its  guns,  besides  a 
number  of  prisoners  were  captured. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  battery  was  advanced  another  mile, 
which  brought  it  nearly  under  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  Here  it 
parked  near  the  captured  fort.  A  few  moments  afterward  the 
enemy  charged  with  such  force  as  to  drive  back  the  left  of  the  line 
a  short  distance.  They  attempted  to  carry  Romer's  Battery,  but 
its  guns  belched  forth  double  charges  of  canister  with  such  rapidity 
that  they  were  driven  back  and  the  lost  ground  was  soon  regained. 
Romer's  Battery  lost  fifteen  men  in  killed  and  wounded  during  the 
fight.  Durell's  Battery  was  placed  in  position  for  action  after  the 


216  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

assault  was  begun,  but  did  not  get  an  opportunity  to  open  its  guns. 
The  battle  ended  with  darkness  setting  in. 

There  being  no  prospect  of  any  more  fighting  until  morning, 
the  horses  were  watered  and  hitched  up  again.  The  men  then 
rolled  themselves  in  their  blankets  on  the  ground  and  went  to 
sleep.  There  was  a  sprinkle  of  rain  during  the  night,  but  not 
enough  to  wet  through  the  blankets. 

The  next  morning,  October  ist,  the  command  was  called  up 
at  daylight.  The  horses  were  first  given  water  and  feed,  after 
which  the  men  prepared  breakfast,  which  consisted  of  "hard  tack" 
and  coffee.  Scarcely  was  this  humble  meal  finished,  when  the 
enemy  attacked  on  the  right  with  considerable  vigor.  Heavy 
musketry  raged  for  half  an  hour,  when  it  ceased  with  the  repulse 
of  the  enemy.  There  being  indications  of  a  flank  movement  in 
progress  by  the  Confederates,  the  left  section  of  the  battery,  under 
command  of  Sergeant  Cuffel,  was  sent  to  the  point  threatened  and 
posted  on  a  knoll  where  it  commanded  an  extended  sweep  of  the 
open  ground  to  the  woods  beyond  which  was  occupied  by  the  foe. 

The  centre  section  was  posted  several  hundred  yards  to  the 
right,  and  the  right  section  as  far  to  the  left.  A  detail  of  infantry 
was  sent  to  assist  the  artillerists  in  strengthening  the  position  by 
the  construction  of  earthworks.  Rain  poured  down  in  torrents 
during  the  greater  portion  of  the  day.  The  fierce  storm  suspended 
the  operations,  and  there  was  no  fighting  except  by  the  skirmishers. 
The  centre  section  got  a  chance  to  throw  a  few  time  shells  in  the 
afternoon,  when  the  enemy  approached  from  the  woods  in  front  of 
its  position.  One  gun  fired  five  and  the  other  four  rounds  at  fa 
degrees  elevation  and  one  second  time,  which  was  firing  at  short 
range,  especially  for  time-shell.  It  had  the  immediate  effect  of 
sending  the  enemy  back  into  the  woods  out  of  sight.  The  tents 
were  pitched  in  the  evening,  and  after  partaking  of  a  tin-cup  of 
black  coffee — the  mainstay  of  a  soldier — the  men  turned  in  to 
sleep. 

On  the  2nd,  the  infantry  was  formed  in  front  of  the  intrench- 
mentsand  a  reconnoisance  pushed  out  through  the  woods,  when  it 
was  ascertained  that  the  Confederates  had  retired  to  another  line 
of  intrenchments.  The  line  advanced  two  miles  or  more  before  it 
encountered  opposition,  when  a  pretty  brisk  engagement  ensued, 
but  the  enemy  was  found  to  be  too  strongly  intrenched  to  be 
driven  out  with  the  force  moving  against  him.  The  loss  in  this 
operation  was  quite  heavy,  but  the  line  had  been  extended  three 


POPLAR  GROVE  CHURCH 


PEEBLES'   FARM  AND  POPLAR  GROVE  CHURCH.  217 

miles  westward  and  now  reached  within  five  miles  of  the  Southside 
Railroad.  If  this  railroad  could  be  seized,  it  would  be  equivalent 
to  the  capture  of  Petersburg.  At  dusk  the  Second  Corps  came  in 
from  the  left,  where  it  had  been  driven  back  by  the  enemy's  cavalry 
which  had  made  a  dash  the  day  before  on  the  Union  cavalry.  Thus 
ended  the  battle  of  Poplar  Grove  Church.  Orders  were  received 
to  unhitch  and  unharness  for  the  night. 

Lieutenant  Rhoads  received  his  commission  as  captain  and 
was  mustered  in  on  October  3rd,  when  the  title  of  the  battery  was 
changed  to  "  Rhoads'  Battery."  In  the  morning  the  left  section, 
under  command  of  Lieutenant  Sailor,  was  advanced  a  mile,  where 
the  men  entrenched  their  position.  A  detatchment  of  infantry 
was  sent  to  help  in  the  work  of  building  a  fortification  for  the  guns, 
but  the  lieutenant  concluded  that  his  men  could  do  the  work  with 
out  aid.  There  was  no  fighting  during  the  day  except  by  the 
skirmishers,  which  extended  along  the  entire  front.  They  fought 
undercover  of  trees  and  pits  hastily  dug  with  the  tin  plate,  which 
was  an  invaluable  implement  in  the  outfit  of  the  skirmisher  in 
scraping  up  the  sandy  soil  to  a  sufficient  height  to  protect  the 
body  in  a  recumbent  position. 

The  horses  of  the  battery  were  harnessed  in  the  evening  and 
stood  in  readiness  for  action  throughout  the  night.  The  work  of 
intrenching  was  pushed  the  next  morning  and  completed  at  noon. 
Early  in  the  afternoon  the  Confederates  made  an  assault  upon  the 
pickets  and  pressed  the  line  back  a  short  distance.  The  whole 
line  was  instantly  under  arms  to  meet  the  assault  in  force,  but  the 
enemy  was  checked  and  soon  afterward  driven  back.  A  few  bat 
teries  on  both  sides  engaged  in  the  action.  A  house  located  be 
tween  the  lines,  from  which  the  enemy's  sharpshooters  were  oper 
ating,  became  the  target  for  some  of  the  Union  guns,  until  it  was 
set  on  fire  and  consumed. 

The  battery  was  inspected  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  and  an 
inventory  of  its  entire  outfit  taken  by  Captain  Rhoads,  who  gave 
his  command  a  thorough  overhauling,  with  the  purpose  of  placing 
it  in  first-class  condition.  He  was  a  capable  organizer,  and  his 
promotion  to  first  place  in  the  command  was  well  received  by  a 
majority  of  the  men. 

The  battery  was  called  up  early  on  the  8th  and  ordered  to 
breakfast  and  pack  up  ready  for  action  at  7  o'clock.  Another 
movement  to  the  left  was  in  progress  and  there  was  every  prospect 
of  a  battle.  No  orders  to  move  were  received,  however,  by  the 


218  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

battery,  as  it  was  left  among  the  troops  that  remained  to  hold  that 
portion  of  the  line.  The  captain  announced  that  he  had  sent  to 
Governor  Curtin  for  commissions  for  Sergeants  Lawrence,  Cuffel 
and  Mast,  as  lieutenants.  Sergeant  Lawrence  was  at  the  time  in 
command  of  the  centre  section  and  Sergeant  Cuffel  of  the  left  sec 
tion.  Orderly  Sergeant  Harrison  G.  Bouse,  who  was  very  much 
disgruntled  over  the  recent  promotions,  was  reduced  to  a  private, 
and  sent  to  corps  headquarters  to  perform  duty  as  orderly.  Ser 
geant  Abraham  D.  Blundin  was  reduced  to  his  former  rank  as  cor 
poral,  at  his  own  request,  the  duties  of  sergeant  not  being  to  his 
liking.  This  made  quite  a  change  in  the  non-commissioned  staff, 
and  made  the  roll  of  officers  as  follows  : 

Captain — Samuel  H.  Rhoads,  Berks  County. 

Senior  First  Lieutenant — Henry  Sailor,  Reading. 

Junior  First  Lieutenant — Adley  B.  Lawrence,  Chester  County. 

Senior  Second  Lieutenant — Charles  A.  Cuffel,  Doylestown. 

Junior  Second  Lieutenant — James  L.  Mast,  Reading. 

Orderly  Sergeant — William  S.  McNair,  from  ensign,  Doyles 
town. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant — Samuel  K.  Whitner,  no  change, 
Berks  County. 

DUTY  SERGEANTS. 

First.  John  L.  Lewis,  from  fourth  sergeant,  Montgomery 
County. 

Second.      Henry  Dease,  from  second  corporal,  Reading. 
Third.      Stuart  McAleese,  from  fifth  sergeant,  Bucks  County. 
Fourth.      John  Hinnershotx,  from  private,  Reading. 
Fifth.      Jacob  Bauer,  from  first  corporal,  Chester  County. 
Sixth.      John  B.  Jones,  from  fifth  corporal,  New  York  State. 

CORPORALS. 

First.      John  W.  Morris,  from  sixth  corporal,  Reading. 
Second.      Fdward    H.    Barker,    from    ninth    corporal,     New 
York  State. 

Third.      Aaron  Martin,  no  change,  Reading. 

Fourth.      George  Hart,  no  change,  Reading. 

Fifth.      William  W.  Drayer,  from  private,  Berks  County. 

Sixth.      Charles  C.  Berg,  from  private,  Reading. 

Seventh.      Andrew  J.  Schweimler,  no  change,  Reading. 

Eighth.      Jacob  L.  Beam,  no  change,  Chester  County. 


LIEUT. 
HENRY   SAILOR. 


LIEUT. 

ADLEY   B,  LAWRENCE. 


0 


LIEUT.  CHARLES  A.  CUFFI 


LIEUT.  JAMES  L.  MAST 


PEEHLES'   FARM  AND  POPLAR  GROVE  CHURCH.          219 

Ninth.  Abraham  D.  Blundin,  from  sixth  sergeant,  Bucks 
County. 

Tenth.      Lewis  Bollman,  from  private,  Reading. 

Eleventh.      Elias  K.  Cooper,  no  change,  Bucks  County. 

Twelfth.      William  H.  Quaintance,  no  change,  Chester  County. 

Artificers — Augustus  K.  Masser,  Reading,  and  John  H. 
Thompson,  of  Bucks  County. 

Buglers — George  Graeff  and  Jonas  A.  Montgomery,  Reading. 

Ensign — Anthony  B.  Bitting,  Reading. 

Company  Clerk — Louis  P.  Bogia,  Philadelphia. 

Joseph  M.  Cuffel,  who  had  served  as  bugler  from  the  organi 
zation  of  the  battery  in  1861,  was  made  field  hospital  steward,  to 
remain  with  the  battery.  His  duties  were  to  take  charge  of  the 
medicines,  bandages  and  other  hospital  supplies,  and  compound 
prescriptions  for  the  surgeon,  who  had  charge  of  the  sick  of  several 
batteries  of  the  corps. 

The  promotions  were  very  satisfactory  to  the  men  of  the  bat 
tery.  The  officers  were  all  young  men  promoted  from  the  ranks, 
who  had  experienced  three  years  of  active  service,  and  knew  the 
needs  of  the  private  soldier.  There  was  not  one  of  them  who  was 
not  capable  and  deserving. 


220  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 
HATCHER'S   RUN. 


ON  October  141)1,  the    igSih   Pennsylvania   Regiment  arrived 
at   the   left   wing   of   the   lines   investing    Petersburg,    and 
encamped  close  to  the  battery.      Some  of  the  Bucks  Coun- 
tians,  of  which  that  regiment  was  partly  composed,  took  an  early 
opportunity  to  visit  their  acquaintances  in  the  battery.     They  were 
heartily  welcomed  and  entertained  and   feasted  with    the  best  that 
the  artillerymen  could  provide. 

On  the  1  8th,  George  Schwenk,  who  had  joined  the  battery 
from  Reading  during  the  previous  January,  died  suddenly  of  colic. 
('old  and  frosty  weather  was  now  coming  on,  and  its  approach 
induced  the  men  to  write  home  for  boxes  of  underclothing,  etc. 
The  right  and  centre  sections  of  the  battery,  under  command  of 
Lieutenants  Sailor  and  Cuffel  were  stationed  in  Fort  Gregg.  Four 
brass  pieces  of  the  Seventh  Main  Battery  also  occupied  that  large 
fortification.  The  left  section,  under  command  of  Lieutenant 
Lawrence,  was  posted  in  Fort  Welsh.  The  Confederate  works 
which  were  hidden  from  view  by  a  dense  forest  which  intervened 
when  this  fort  was  built,  were  now  in  plain  view.  The  forest  had 
been  cut  down  and  much  of  the  timber  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  intrenchments  and  for  fuel.  Much  of  the  timber  had  been 
fired  and  consumed  in  order  to  remove  the  obstruction  to  the  view. 

The  opposing  pickets  were  now  on  friendly  terms,  for  they 
had  agreed  not  to  fire  at  each  other.  They  met  halfway  between 
the  lines,  traded  newspapers,  gave  coffee  for  tobacco  (the  latter 
article  appearing  always  to  be  in  plentiful  supply  among  the  enemy), 
and,  in  short,  exchanged  anything  that  one  side  possessed  and  the 
other  needed.  A  few  girls  were  reported  to  be  occupying  a  house 
just  within  the  enemy's  line.  The  L^nion  pickets  inquired  of  the 
"  Johnnies  "  whether  they  had  any  females  to  trade. 

The  batterymen,  when  not  engaged  at  drill,  filling  bags  with 
sand  to  protect  the  embrasures  of  the  fort,  or  other  work  necessary 
to  strengthen  the  position,  were  at  liberty  to  stroll  a  short  distance 
from  camp,  and  frequently  visited  the  picket-line  to  get  a  good 


HATCHER'S  RUN.  221 

view  of   the    "Johnnies"    and  learn  what   was  transpiring  at  the 
front. 

On  the  morning  of  October  2yth  the  whole  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  put  in  motion,  leaving  only  sufficient  men  to  hold  the 
fortified  line.  Parke,  who  was  posted  at  the  extreme  left,  in  the  posi 
tion  which  he  had  won  ten  days  before,  moved  out  toward  Hatcher's 
Run,  supported  by  Warren.  They  were  to  strike  the  enemy's  in- 
trenchments  at  that  point,  while  Hancock  was  to  execute  the  main 
movement  to  the  railroad.  But  Parke,  upon  coming  in  front  of  the 
line  which  he  was  to  carry  found  it  impenetrable.  Hancock's 
Corps  was  now  wholly  isolated.  Whole  regiments  of  Crawford's 
Division,  which  had  crossed  Hatcher's  Run,  lost  their  way  in  the 
dense  woods  in  the  effort  to  join  Hancock.  The  gap  was  about  a 
mile  wide,  yet  such  was  the  difficult  character  of  the  intervening 
space  that  each  command  was  unaware  of  the  precise  position  of 
the  other. 

,  The  enemy,  apparently  unaware  of  the  approach  of  Crawford, 
arranged  an  assault  upon  Hancock.  He  crossed  the  run  between 
Hancock  and  Crawford,  fairly  turned  Hancock's  right,  which,  look 
ing  for  an  attack  from  another  direction,  was  struck  in  the  rear. 
One  brigade  gave  way  for  a  space,  losing  a  number  of  guns.  But 
Egan's  Division  promptly  changed  front  so  as  to  face  the  enemy, 
who  now  had  become  aware  that  Crawford  was  close  upon  his  left. 
The  Confederates,  bewildered,  changed  front  so  as  to  expose  their 
flank  to  Egan,  who  swept  on,  while  a  brigade  of  infantry  and  Ker- 
win's  dismounted  cavalry  struck  in  front.  The  Confederates, 
overborne  by  the  fierce  rush,  gave  way,  and  were  driven  from  the 
field,  leaving  behind  them  nearly  a  thousand  prisoners.  Had 
Crawford  in  the  meanwhile  advanced,  the  whole  Confederate  force, 
isolated  by  the  stream,  must  have  been  captured.  Hut,  though  so 
close  at  hand,  the  noise  of  the  musketry  was  not  heard  by  him 
through  the  forest.  Two  hundred  of  the  Confederates  lost  in  the 
woods,  strayed  within  Crawford's  lines,  and  gave  themselves  up  as 
prisoners. 

The  enemy  had  met  a  decided  repulse  ;  but  Hancock's  posi 
tion  was  still  critical.  He  was  yet  isolated  and  in  front  of  a  force 
of  unknown  strength,  which  would  undoubtedly  attack  next  morn 
ing  with  increased  energy.  His  ammunition  was  nearly  exhausted, 
so  he  withdrew  that  night  and  retraced  his  way  to  the  lines  from 
which  he  had  set  out.  Thus  the  attempt  to  get  possession  of  the 
South  Side  Railroad  proved  a  failure. 


222  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

By  the  ist  of  November  the  troops  had  all  returned  to  their 
former  position  in  the  fortifications.  The  battery  was  a  part  of  the 
force  left  to  defend  the  fortified  line,  and  consequently  did  not  see 
any  of  the  fighting,  in  which,  however,  very  little  artillery  was  used 
on  account  of  the  density  of  the  forest,  which  was  the  scene  of 
the  conflict.  The  men  in  the  caisson  park  were  set  to  work  at 
clearing  a  piece  of  wood  near  by  for  a  new  camp  ground,  with  the 
intention  of  building  winter  quarters  upon  it  if  the  prospects  of 
remaining  at  that  place  for  some  time  should  prove  favorable.  The 
change  to  the  new  location  was  to  have  been  made  on  the  2nd, 
but  rain  set  in  and  prevented  the  movement.  The  camp  was 
moved  on  the  5th,  but  to  an  entirely  different  spot  from  that  which 
had  been  cleared,  into  a  woods  back  of  corps  headquarters. 

Soft  bread  was  now  issued  to  the  men  on  every  other  day. 
That  article  of  diet  could  also  be  bought  of  the  commissary  at  the 
rate  of  three  loaves  for  twenty-five  cents.  Butter  was  occasionally 
offered  by  the  sutlers  at  eighty  cents  per  pound.  A  few  days  later 
the  caissons  were  again  moved  about  two  miles  farther  to  the  rear, 
where  a  piece  of  woods  was  cut  down  and  the  ground  cleared  for  a 
park.  Details  of  cannoneers  were  made  from  the  sections  in  posi 
tion  at  the  front,  and  sent  back  to  assist  in  the  work.  Trees  and 
stumps  were  removed,  brush  burned  and  a  fence  built  round  the 
camp.  New  tents  were  received,  which  were  duly  appreciated,  as 
the  old  ones  were  leaky.  Two  new  gun  carriages  were  also 
received  on  a  requisition  for  other  articles  needed  for  the  better 
ment  of  the  battery. 

The  Presidential  election  occurred  on  November  8th,  when  a 
polling  place  was  established  in  a  wall  tent,  and  the  polls  were 
opened  to  receive  the  qualified  votes  of  the  batterymen.  The 
following  election  officers  were  appointed  :  Judge,  Lieutenant 
James  L.  Mast,  of  Berks  ;  Inspectors,  Lieutenant  Charles  A. 
Cuffel,  of  Bucks,  and  private  Henry  Parton,  of  Schuylkill  County ; 
Clerks,  privates  John  Schrader,  of  Berks,  and  William  Bracefield, 
of  Schuylkill.  Of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  then  com 
prising  the  number  of  members  of  the  battery,  eighty-five  voted. 
A  large  portion  of  the  remaining  number  had  not  reached  the  age 
to  entitle  them  to  a  vote.  Fifty-eight  votes  were  cast  for  Abraham 
Lincoln,  and  twenty-seven  for  George  B.  McClellan. 

Orders  to  build  winter  quarters  were  received  on  the  i2th, 
which  command  the  men  cheerfully  complied  with  by  proceeding 
at  once  to  work.  They  logged  up  to  the  height  of  four  feet  and 


HATCHER'S  RUN.  223 

roofed  with  new  tarpaulins,  each  hut  being  provided  with  a  fire 
place.  This  structure  made  very  comfortable  quarters  for  eight 
men.  Drills  took  place  every  pleasant  day,  the  new  officers  being 
desirous  of  bringing  the  battery  up  to  the  degree  of  proficiency 
which  it  held  before  the  three  years'  men  went  home,  a  few  of 
whom  had  predicted  that  it  would  go  down  after  they  left  it.  But 
the  veterans  who  had  now  served  with  the  battery  for  more  than 
three  years  were  pleased  with  the  new  officers  and  the  energetic 
manner  in  which  they  assumed  their  duties,  and  were  confident 
that  they  were  qualified  to  lead  them  to  battle  and  care  for  their 
needs. 

The  military  railroad  had  been  extended  three  miles,  from  its 
late  terminus  at  the  Yellow  House  to  Peebles'  Farm,  on  which 
trains  were  now  carrying  supplies  and  troops,  the  road  running 
within  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  caisson  park.  A  storm  set  in 
on  the  1 8th,  accompanied  by  cold  weather  and  heavy  rain  falls, 
which  continued  until  the  morning  of  the  22nd. 

Thanksgiving  day  fell  on  the  24th  of  November,  and  was 
passed  by  the  men  in  the  same  manner  as  any  other  day  of  the 
week  ;  but  a  lot  of  apples  and  turkeys  were  received  on  the  day 
following.  These  good  things  were  late  in  coming,  but  the  turkey 
tasted  as  good  and  was  just  as  highly  appreciated  by  the  soldiers, 
as  if  it  had  arrived  at  the  proper  time.  Each  man  received  three 
apples  and  three  quarters  of  a  pound  of  roasted  and  stuffed  turkey. 

Captain  Rhoads  now  had  the  battery  well  in  hand  and  thor 
oughly  organi/ed.  The  commissions  for  his  lieutenants  arrived 
from  Harrisburg  on  the  24th,  after  a  vexatious  delay,  and  the  ap 
pointees  were  at  once  mustered  out  of  service  as  non-commissioned 
officers,  and  mustered  in  as  commissioned  officers.  The  ranks  were 
filled  with  recruits  who  were  added  from  time  to  time.  All  dam 
aged  or  worn  equipage  and  material  belonging  to  the  battery  was 
condemned  and  new  drawn  to  replace  it.  Every  opportunity  to 
drill  was  improved,  and  the  battery  had  made  good  progress  in 
its  tactics.  All  the  batteries  of  the  Ninth  Corps  were  ordered  to 
assemble  at  corps  headquarters,  where  they  were  critically  inspected 
by  Captain  Miller,  inspector  general  of  the  Artillery  Brigade,  Ninth 
Army  Corps,  who  stated  that  Rhoads'  and  the  ipth  New  York  were 
in  good  condition  for  active  service,  but  that  the  others  were  only 
in  fair  condition.  The  inspector  general  complimented  the  officers 
of  the  battery  in  bringing  their  command,  in  so  short  a  time,  up  to 
the  mark  which  it  had  reached. 


224  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

SUPPORTING  THE  CAVALRY. 

ON  November  28th,  the  Ninth  Corps  was  relieved  by  the 
Second.  The  battery  packed  up  and  moved  to  the  rear  in 
the  afternoon.  After  proceeding  about  four  miles,  orders 
came  to  retrace  the  march  to  the  position  that  had  just  been  left, 
as  no  artillery  had  arrived  to  occupy  it.  Night  was  setting  in  when 
the  place  was  reached  and  the  sections  resumed  their  respective 
positions  in  the  forts.  The  comfortable  quarters  which  had  been 
constructed  at  the  caisson  park  were  gone,  the  best  portion  of  the 
material  of  which  the  huts  were  composed,  having  been  carried 
away  by  the  neighboring  infantry.  That  was,  however,  of  no  serious 
importance  to  the  men,  as  they  were  morally  certain  of  leaving 
again  in  the  morning,  and  they  could  easily  rough  it  without  shelter 
through  one  night. 

The  next  morning  the  command  was  off  again  and  marched 
toward  Petersburg,  turning  off  to  the  right  before  reaching  the  Pe 
tersburg  front.  It  took  position  on  the  rear  line  of  fortifications, 
in  support  of  a  large  body  of  cavalry  placed  there  to  protect  the 
rear  of  the  Union  army  from  incursions  of  the  enemy.  This  rear 
line  of  intrenchments  was  built  to  protect  the  military  railroad,  and 
extended  from  the  James  River  to  Hatcher's  Run.  The  caissons 
were  parked  about  half  a  mile  from  Hancock  Station,  near  Fort 
Stevenson.  The  right  section,  under  command  of  Lieutenant 
Sailor,  was  stationed  in  this  fort,  which  was  an  earth  work  large 
enough  to  accommodate  thirty-one  guns.  These  two  guns  were 
the  only  ones  occupying  the  fort,  one  being  stationed  at  each  end. 
The  space  between  them  was  so  great  that  the  men  who  manned 
them  were  almost  out  of  sight  of  each  other.  The  centre  section, 
commanded  by  Lieutenant  Cuffel,  was  posted  in  Fort  Blaisdell,  a 
smaller  work  located  on  the  Jerusalem  plank  road,  distant  half  a 
mile  to  the  left  of  Fort  Stevenson.  The  left  section,  under  Lieu 
tenant  Lawrence,  was  assigned  to  Fort  Patrick  Kelly,  a  mile  to  the 
left  of  Fort  Blaisdell. 


SUPPORTING  THE   CAVALRY. 


225 


The  men  bark  at  the  caisson  park  went  to  work  and  in  a  few 
days  completed  very  comfortable  quarters.  Those  who  had  gone 
with  the  guns  to  the  forts  had  the  good  fortune  of  finding  in  them 
quite  as  good  quarters  as  those  which  they  had  left  at  Poplar 
Grove  Church,  and  were  thus  well  prepared  for  the  rough  weather 
due  at  this  season  of  the  year.  The  weather  was,  however,  very 
mild  and  pleasant  during  the  early  part  of  December,  which  was 
favorable  for  field  drill,  of  which  the  captain  took  daily  advantage. 
Jt  was  the  only  occasion  that  brought  the  men  of  the  isolated 
sections  of  the  battery  together.  The  captain  hoped  to  be  able  to 
get  the  battery  together  in  camp  before  winter  weather  set  in.  so 
that  its  efficiency  in  drill  might  be  still  further  improved. 

On  the  morning  of  December  6th,  the  Fifth  and  Second  Army 
Corps  moved  down  the  Jerusalem  Plank  Road  supposed  to  be  on 
their  way  to  the  enemy's  railroad  communications.  Two  divisions 
of  the  Sixth  Corps  had  arrived  from  the  Shenandoah  Valley  a  day 
or  two  previous,  and  occupied  the  works  vacated  by  the  troops 
engaged  in  this  movement  The  Ninth  Corps  held  all  the  line 
from  the  Appomattox  River  to  the  Yellow  House — which  implied 
the  most  strenuous  work  on  the  whole  line  of  investment  of 
Richmond  and  Petersburg.  It  was  thought  that  some  very  im 
portant  movement  was  under  way  and  a  battle  was  expected  to 
take  place  at  some  point  on  the  left  of  our  lines.  The  battery  was 
placed  under  orders  to  be  in  readiness  to  move  to  the  front  line 
and  take  position  in  the  trenches  which  it  had  occupied  during  the 
summer,  where  rifle  balls  and  exploding  shells,  from  cannon  and 
and  mortar,  made  the  air  constantly  vocal  with  their  peculiar  music. 

Rain  began  to  fall  soon  after  the  columns  of  the  Second  and 
Fifth  Corps  had  passed  out  of  sight  down  the  road.  This  frequently 
occurred  after  the  army  had  begun  an  important  movement,  and 
often  proved  a  great  hindrance  to  the  success  of  its  operations. 
But  the  skies  cleared  beautifully  toward  evening,  and  the  moon 
shone  with  a  brightness  that  made  objects  visible  at  a  considerable 
distance.  All  hands  listened  to  hear  the  thunder  of  artillery  and 
the  rattle  of  musketry  resound  from  the  left  the  next  morning,  but 
there  was  no  aural  intimation  of  a  conflict  from  that  quarter  to 
greet  the  ear.  It  was  supposed  that  the  column  was  making  a 
wide  detour  and  had  not  yet  reached  the  enemy's  flank. 

A  few  days  afterward  the  troops  returned,  arriving  within  the 
fortified  lines  during  the  night  in  a  storm.  About  two  inches  of 
snow  had  fallen  during  the  afternoon,  which  turned  to  rain  n  the 


226  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

evening,  and  made  their  march  a  very  sloppy  and  unpleasant  one. 
The  column  had  made  a  successful  raid  on  the  enemy's  railroad 
communications,  torn  up  the  tracks  for  a  considerable  distance  and 
destroyed  other  property  of  value  to  the  enemy.  A  more  extended 
movement  seemed  to  be  in  contemplation  ;  in  fact,  some  of  the 
infantry  had  already  struck  tents  and  were  in  readiness  to  march, 
but  it  was  abandoned  because  of  the  severity  of  the  storm  before 
the  troops  got  under  way. 

All  hands  were  now  employed  in  strengthening  their  quarters 
against  the  force  of  the  storm,  and  for  the  winter,  should  they  be 
permitted  to  remain  in  them  so  long.  All  the  cracks  and  crevices 
in  the  log  structures  were  chinked  and  plastered  with  ' '  good  old 
Virginia  mud,"  the  fire  place  and  chimney  were  strengthened,  the 
canvas  roof  tightened,  and  a  larger  supply  of  fire  wood  brought  in. 
These  quarters  were  of  various  designs  of  architecture,  some  of 
them  growing  into  very  cozy  and  comfortable  quarters,  containing 
bunks,  tables  and  benches.  Many  a  comrade  in  looking  back 
over  his  army  life  in  search  of  comforts  will  call  to  mind  that  one 
of  the  few  comforts  he  enjoyed  in  his  soldier  life,  that  of  his 
residence  in  the  little  log  hut  down  in  Virginia  was  not  among  the 
least. 

Two  deserters  were  hung  on  the  yth,  at  a  point  about  one 
mile  from  the  battery's  caisson  park.  All  the  troops  that  could  be 
spared  from  duty  were  marched  out  of  the  lines  to  witness  the 
execution.  The  unfortunate  young  men,  who  had  gone  over  to 
the  enemy  and  enlisted  in  his  army,  were  taken  prisoners  by  some 
of  Sheridan's  troops  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  where  they  were 
recognized  and  court  martialed.  One  of  them  smoked  a  cigar  while 
being  marched  in  front  of  the  line  of  troops,  until  the  scaffold  was 
reached.  They  both  deported  themselves  with  the  utmost 
impudence  and  bravado. 


AGAIN  AT  THE  FRONT.  227 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
AGAIN  AT  THE  FRONT. 

THE  guns  of  the  battery  were  withdrawn  from  the  different 
forts  which  they  occupied  on  the  rear  line  on  the  evening 
of  the  1 8th,  and  posted  in  the  front  of  Petersburg,  a  short 
distance  to  the  left  of  Fort  Morton,  the  scene  of  the  battery's 
operations  during  the  previous  summer.  Three  guns,  under  com 
mand  of  Lieutenant  Lawrence,  were  posted  in  Fort  Meikle.  Lieu 
tenant  Sailor's  section  was  stationed  in  a  redoubt  in  rear  of  Fort 
Sedgwick  (commonly  called  ' '  Fort  Hell"  ),  and  the  remaining  piece 
in  command  of  Lieutenant  Cuffel,  was  assigned  to  Fort  Rice  as  a 
reinforcement  to  that  fort,  which  already  contained  a  battery  of 
guns.  So  Rhoads'  Battery  was  again  split  up  and  its  guns  placed 
hundreds  of  yards  apart. 

The  caissons  did  not  break  camp  until  the  following  morning, 
when  they  were  moved  up  to  the  cut  of  the  Petersburg  and  Nor 
folk  Railroad.  Here  Captain  Rhoads  ascertained  that  several  bat 
teries  which  were  in  park  near  by  were  about  to  move  from  the 
ground  upon  which  he  desired  to  park  his  caissons.  He  therefore 
concluded  to  return  to  the  camp  ground  from  which  he  had  started 
and  wait  until  the  batteries  moved.  This  camp  would  give  his 
men  as  good  quarters  as  those  which  they  had  expected  to  leave 
behind  them. 

On  the  following  morning  the  caissons  were  again  moved  up 
toward  Petersburg  and  halted  beside  the  camp  which  had  just  been 
vacated  by  the  Fourth  Rhode  Island  Battery.  But  as  that  battery 
had  moved  only  a  short  distance,  guards  were  left  at  the  quarters 
to  hold  possession  of  them  until  its  men  could  return  and  remove 
them  to  the  new  camp  ground.  A  pretty  heavy  rain  fell  all  that 
day  and  the  next,  so  that  little  of  the  material  could  be  moved. 
But  on  the  following  day  the  weather  cleared  off,  when  the  Rhode 
Islanders  came  in  force,  and  were  busy  nearly  all  day  hauling  logs, 
bricks,  etc  Rhoads'  men,  who  were  very  much  disappointed  at 
these  proceedings  and  looked  upon  the  removal  of  the  quarters  as 
a  species  of  robbery,  proceeded  to  the  work  of  constructing  new 
ones.  In  a  few  days  they  had  completed  good  log  huts,  with  a 


228  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

brick  chimney  to  each,  which  were  considered  quite  palatial.  They 
were  needed,  as  the  weather  was  now  growing  cold.  This  was  the 
third  time  that  winter  quarters  were  built  during  that  season. 

The  caisson  park  was  situated  on  a  knoll  about  a  mile  in  rear 
of  the  forts  in  which  the  guns  were  located,  a  hundred  yards  from 
the  trestle  bridge  of  the  military  railroad,  and  a  mile  above  Meade 
Station.  The  horses  were  fairly  well  sheltered  in  stables  con 
structed  of  cedar  boughs.  The  steeples  and  large  buildings  of 
Petersburg  were  in  plain  view  from  this  point,  and  it  was  a  good 
place  to  observe  operations  along  the  lines  extending  from  Fort 
Steadman  to  Fort  Sedgwick. 

Fort  Meikle  was  the  first  on  the  line  of  forts  extending  to  the 
left  from  Fort  Morton.  It  was  located  on  low  ground  directly  in 
front  of  Petersburg,  and  about  a  mile  distant  therefrom.  Next  in 
order  came  Fort  Rice,  a  large  earthwork  located  on  an  elevation 
overlooking  the  ravines  to  the  right  and  front,  and  commanding  an 
excellent  range  for  the  operation  of  the  artillery.  Next  to  the  left 
was  Fort  Sedgwick,  built  across  the  Jerusalem  plank  road,  and  facing 
Fort  Mahone,  a  large  Confederate  fort  (commonly  called  "Fort 
Damnation"  ),  perhaps  600  yards  distant,  which  was  about  the  most 
pert  and  combative  earthwork  on  the  Confederate  front.  The  Union 
and  Confederate  lines  approached  nearer  at  this  point  than  at  any 
other  along  the  investing  lines,  the  pickets  being  posted  in  pits  not 
much  more  than  a  hundred  yards  apart.  Here  the  fighting  had 
been,  up  to  a  recent  period,  most  vigorous  and  incessant,  giving 
to  that  place  the  common  appellation  of  "  Hell  and  Damnation." 

But  the  constant  and  furious  fire  that  had  been  kept  up  between 
the  pickets  during  the  summer  had  subsided,  an  armistice  having 
been  agreed  upon,  by  which  the  shooting  was  stopped  during  the 
daytime.  But  as  soon  as  darkness  came  on  one  side  or  the  other 
would  shout,  "Get  into  your  holes  !"  and  the  firing  would  begin. 
It  was  agreed  that  the  aim  should  be  high  enough  to  carry  the  bul 
lets  over  the  heads  of  the  opponents.  If  a  bullet  from  the  "  John 
nies  ' '  by  chance  struck  close  by,  or  whizzed  uncomfortably  close 
to  a  Yankee's  head,  which  frequently  occurred,  the  "Johnny" 
would  be  reminded  of  the  agreement  in  language  more  emphatic 
than  elegant.  Thus  was  night  made  hideous  by  the  shrieking  bul 
lets  and  excited  yells  of  the  pickets  until  daylight,  when  the  firing 
ceased,  and  the  pickets,  emerging  from  their  pits,  met  each  other 
half  way  between  the  lines,  exchanged  New  York  and  Richmond 
papers,  swapped  coffee  for  tobacco,  or,  perhaps,  even  sat  down  to  a 
sociable  game  at  cards. 


AGAIN  AT  THE  FRONT.  229 

The  enemy,  no  doubt  noticing  unusual  activity  in  Fort  Meikle, 
threw  several  mortar  shells  at  it  on  the  evening  following  the  arrival 
of  Lieutenant  Lawrence's  command,  one  alighting  on  the  bomb 
proof  and  another  striking  one  of  the  gabions  surrounding  the  fort 
and  demolishing  it.  But  neither  shot  hurt  any  one.  No  reply  was 
made  by  Lawrence' s  guns.  The  pri  ncipal  part  of  the  firing  engaged 
in  by  the  artillery,  was  done  by  the  mortars.  At  night  the 
burning  fuse  could  be  seen  flaring  from  the  projectile  as  it  flew 
through  the  air,  and  the  hissing  sound  it  made  was  all  the  warning 
given  of  its  approach.  The  report  of  the  discharge  of  the  piece 
was  seldom  heard,  the  sound  being  subdued  by  its  location  in  a 
deep  pit. 

The  approaches  to  the  forts  on  the  front  line  were  made  in 
covered  ways  or  traverses,  which  ran  zigzag  from  the  low  ground 
in  the  rear.  These  traverses  were  wide  enough  to  permit  artillery 
to  pass  through  them. 

The  men  in  the  forts  also  built  log  huts,  which  were  roofed 
with  tarpaulins  or  tents,  and  were  very  good  quarters.  A  heavy 
rain  storm  set  in  on  the  20th,  which  continued  during  the  day  fol 
lowing,  as  if  to  try  them.  They  stood  the  test  very  well. 

A  battery  of  seven  32-pound  rifle  Parrott  guns,  commonly 
called  the  ''Seven  Sisters,"  was  stationed  in  a  fort  situated  on 
high  ground  in  rear  of  Fort  Meikle.  These  guns  fired  a  salute  on 
the  26th,  in  honor  of  the  capture  of  Savannah  with  150  large  guns 
plenty  of  ammunition  and  25,000  bales  of  cotton,  General  Sher 
man's  Christmas  present  to  the  Nation.  They  were  not  shotted 
salutes,  however,  such  as  had  been  hurled  against  the  Confederate 
line  along  the  Petersburg  front  in  the  celebration  of  several  pre 
vious  victories.  The  Seven  Sisters  were  placed  at  this  point  for  the 
purpose  of  contending  with  a  Confederate  battery  of  heavy  Whit- 
worth  guns,  posted  in  a  large  fort  on  the  heights  immediately  oppo 
site,  which  the  enemy  occasionally  used  against  the  trains  on  the 
military  railroad,  and  on  bodies  of  troops  seen  moving  in  the  Union 
rear.  When  the  Whitworths  and  the  Seven  Sisters  engaged  in  a 
duel  the  air  was  made  terribly  vocal  with  the  shrieks  of  the  pro 
jectiles  flying  over  the  heads  of  the  occupants  of  Fort  Meikle,  which 
was  located  on  a  direct  line  between  the  contestants.  During  one 
of  these  duels  the  enemy  sent  a  Whitworth  shell  into  the  caisson 
park.  It  passed  through  one  of  the  tents  and  burst  in  the  midst 
of  the  camp.  One  man's  face  was  skinned  and  his  beard  scorched, 
but  no  damage  of  any  consequence  was  sustained.  Not  a  serious 


230  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

casualty  had  occurred  to  the  battery  since  its  return  to  the  front  of 
the  city,  but  there  were  several  narrow  escapes. 

Three  blank  shots  were  fired  by  one  of  the  batteries  on  the 
night  of  the  26th,  which  was  a  signal  to  the  Confederates  who  had 
knowledge  of  the  secret,  that  the  way  was  clear  for  all  who  wished 
to  desert  their  cause  to  come  over.  The  Union  troops  in  the 
trenches  were  all  under  arms,  watchful  and  prepared  to  render 
assistance  to  any  who  might  come  to  give  themselves  up,  or  to  fight 
if  a  strong  force  approached  armed  for  an  attack.  Hut  few  came 
over  on  this  occasion.  It  was  said  that  the  Confederate  officers 
had  learned  of  the  plot  and  took  prompt  measures  to  block  the 
scheme.  Twenty-five  Confederates  came  over  and  surrendered  on 
Christmas  night.  They  reported  that  a  large  number  of  their  com 
rades  were  meditating  desertion  and  would  come  over  on  the  first 
opportunity.  They  had  little  to  eat  or  to  wear,  and  were  discour 
aged  at  the  course  the  war  was  taking. 

The  last  day  of  the  year  went  out  with  rain,  snow,  hail  and 
wind,  and  a  temperature  that  chilled  every  one  to  the  bone.  The 
log  huts,  which  were  as  complete  as  they  could  be  made  with  rude 
materials  and  limited  resources  for  construction,  were  yet  inade 
quate  to  provide  comfort  against  such  a  severe  storm.  The  horses 
back  in  the  caisson  park  suffered  more  than  the  men.  While  the 
cedar  stables  partly  protected  them  from  the  bitter  wind,  the  roof, 
made  of  the  same  material,  let  the  water  through  like  a  sieve. 
The  floor  of  the  stables  had  been  corduroyed  with  logs,  which 
saved  them  from  standing  knee-deep  in  mud,  as  they  had  done  in 
times  past. 


THE  SIEGE  IN  WINTER.  231 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
THE  SIEGE  IN  WINTER. 

THE  advent  of  the  year  1865  found  the  army  still  besieging 
Petersburg  and  Richmond,  comfortably  fixed  in  winter 
quarters  constructed  for  the  most  part  of  boards  and  logs, 
and  built  by  the  soldiers'  own  hands  ;  but  there  would  have  been 
no  difficulty  in  making  a  flank  movement  against  the  enemy  at  any 
time  when  the  ground  was  hard  enough.  A  great  deal  of  firing 
was  still  kept  up  between  the  opposing  pickets,  mostly  during  the 
night.  This  was  especially  the  case  on  the  line  extending  along 
the  front  of  the  position  held  by  the  three  isolated  sections  of  the 
battery.  While  the  Second  Corps  had  occupied  this  portion  of 
the  line,  which  had  been  relieved  by  the  Ninth  Corps,  the  Con 
federate  rifle  pits  had  been  stormed  at  night,  on  several  occasions, 
their  pickets  driven  back  to  the  main  line  and  a  number  of  them 
captured.  Thereafter  the  enemy's  pickets  kept  up  a  continuous 
fire  throughout  the  night,  as  a  cautionary  measure  against  surprise, 
but  ceased  at  daylight. 

Furloughs  for  the  enlisted  men  and  leave  of  absence  for  the 
officers  were  now  granted,  General  Grant  having  issued  an  order 
directing  that  ten  per  cent,  of  the  force  of  each  command  at  a 
time  should  be  given  leave  to  go  home  A  number  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  battery  promptly  availed  themselves  of  this  privilege. 
Among  the  first  squad  to  go  was  Lieutenant  Cuffel,  who  started 
for  home  on  January  4th,  on  a  fifteen  days'  leave  of  absence. 

Fort  Meikle  was  somewhat  altered  and  repaired  during  the 
month  of  January.  The  heavy  rains  had  caved  in  some  of  the 
bomb-proofs,  after  which  a  squad  of  the  engineer  corps  was  set  to 
work  to  alter  and  strengthen  them.  A  flag  of  truce  was  hoisted  in 
front  of  Fort  Meikle  on  the  i6th  and  kept  there  for  two  days,  but 
for  what  purpose  could  not  be  ascertained.  For  some  time  after 
ward  all  was  quiet  along  the  picket  lines,  which  made  the  long 
winter  nights  seem  very  dull.  There  was  a  rumor  afloat  at  this 
time  that  the  Ninth  Corps  was  to  be  relieved  by  the  Fifth,  which 
was  lying  in  reserve,  but  it  proved  to  be  mere  conjecture. 


232  buRELL*s  BATTERY. 

Rain  set  in  on  the  20th,  and  continued  to  fall  for  several  days. 
The  air  was  raw  and  so  cold  that  it  froze  as  it  fell.  The  storm 
caused  some  washouts  in  the  line  of  intrenchments,  and  drove  the 
pickets  of  friend  and  foe  alike  out  of  their  pits.  Both  parties 
stood  out  in  the  open,  neither  one  showing  any  inclination  to  molest 
the  other. 

Desertions  from  the  Confederate  lines  were  no\v  becoming  an 
every  day  occurrence.  The  usual  route  taken  by  the  guard  con 
ducting  the  prisoners  to  Ninth  Corps  headquarters  passed  near  the 
caisson  park.  Some  of  the  deserters  were  minus  shoes  and  many 
were  poorly  clad.  If  they  happened  along  while  the  batterymen 
were  in  line  with  tin  cup  in  hand  for  their  ration  of  bean  soup,  the 
"  Johnnies  "  would  cast  a  furtive  glance  at  the  soup  that  indicated 
a  consuming  desire  for  some  of  it. 

On  January  28th,  a  white  flag  was  displayed  in  front  of  the 
enemy's  works,  near  the  scene  of  the  mine  explosion,  when  the 
firing  on  both  sides  ceased.  It  was  at  once  met  by  the  officer  in 
command  of  the  brigade  picket  line,  midway  between  the  two  lines, 
where  he  inquired  the  object  of  the  truce.  The  Confederate  offi 
cer  replied  that  Lieutenant  Colonel  Hatch ,  Assistant  Commissioner 
of  Exchanges,  desired  an  interview  with  the  chief  of  General 
Grant's  staff,  on  business  of  the  greatest  importance.  The  Union 
officer  returned  to  make  his  report,  but  before  receiving  instruc 
tions  from  his  superior  officers,  the  truce  again  advanced  and  he 
returned  to  meet  it.  This  time  two  men  accompanied  the  flag. 
One  was  an  old  man,  apparently  scarcely  able  to  walk.  It  proved 
to  be  Alex.  H.  Stephens,  vice-president  of  the  Confederate  States. 
The  other  was  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  a  member  of  the  Confederate 
Senate.  Mr.  Stephens  informed  the  picket  officer  that  Mr.  Hun 
ter  and  he  had  been  appointed  commissioners  of  peace  and  that 
he  should  report  such  information  to  General  Grant.  They  also 
requested  that  General  Grant  be  informed  that  they  were  appointed 
to  confer  with  Mr.  Lincoln  ;  and,  as  the  James  River  was  ice 
bound  they  could  not  get  down  that  way  to  Washington,  but 
wanted  to  come  through  his  lines  so  as  to  lose  no  time 

General  Grant  was  at  this  time  down  at  Fort  Fisher,  North 
Carolina,  making  a  personal  investigation  of  General  Butler's  failure 
to  capture  that  point  ;  consequently  nothing  could  be  done  until 
his  return.  Twenty-four  hours  after  Grant  had  returned,  when 
arrangements  were  made  to  admit  the  commissioners  into  the 
Union  lines.  From  the  moment  the  flag  of  truce  was  displayed 


THE  SIF.GE  IN  WINTER.  233 

the  works  of  both  lines  were  crowded  with  troops,  friend  and  foe, 
watching  the  proceedings  in  silence  until  their  signification  was  re 
vealed,  when,  as  by  a  common  impulse,  the  soldiers  of  both  sides 
yelled  with  delight  at  the  prospect  of  coming  peace.  Cheer  upon 
cheer  was  given,  extending  for  some  distance  on  the  right  and  left 
of  the  lines,  each  side  trying  to  cheer  the  loudest.  "  Peace  in  the 
brain  "  appeared  now  to  have  spread  like  a  contagion.  Officers  of 
all  grades,  from  lieutenants  to  major-generals  were  to  be  seen  flying 
on  horseback  in  all  directions  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  gentlemen 
who  were  apparently  to  bring  peace  so  unexpectedly. 

It  was  arranged  that  the  commissioners  were  to  be  admitted 
into  the  Union  lines  on  the  ^oth.  Troops  had  assembled  in  a  surg 
ing  mass  to  witness  their  coming.  Some  of  them  had  traveled 
a  great  distance,  from  City  Point  to  Ream's  Station  ;  but  only  to 
meet  with  disappointment.  There  was  a  hitch  somewhere,  and 
the  admission  of  the  commissioners  was  deferred  until  the  following 
day.  At  5  P.  M.  of  the  3ist,  the  commissioners,  accompanied  by 
servants,  trunks,  etc. ,  were  admitted.  Another  large  crowd 
thronged  every  available  point  of  observation  and  the  scene  was  an 
animating  one.  The  Confederate  works  near  the  scene  were 
crowded  with  women  and  soldiers  ;  the  Union  works  with  soldiers 
only.  A  large  closed  carriage  was  seen  approaching  from  the 
"Cockade  City"  toward  the  enemy's  works.  It  was  watched 
with  interest  by  all  eyes  'along  both  lines.  It  halted  at  the  works 
and  the  inmates  got  out.  As  the  last  occupant  of  the  vehicle 
alighted  to  the  ground  the  Confederate  soldiery  burst  out  in  cheers 
for  the  distinguished  party,  while  the  ladies  waved  their  snowy 
handkerchiefs.  Slowly  the  party  crossed  line  after  line  of  intrench- 
ment  and  pits,  which  had  made  the  surface  of  the  ground  as  rough 
as  the  upheaval  of  an  earthquake.  Judge  Campbell,  Assistant- 
Secretary  of  War,  was  the  third  member  of  the  Confederate  com 
mission. 

General  Grant  had  several  fine  ambulances  in  waiting  to 
convey  the  distinguished  gentleman  to  City  Point,  where  they 
remained  several  days  as  guests  on  board  of  a  steamboat,  until 
President  Lincoln  could  meet  them,  which  he  did  a  few  days  after 
ward  at  Hampton  Roads.  As  the  commissioners  entered  the  Union 
lines,  they  were  received  with  loud  cheering  which  was  taken  up 
by  thousands  in  the  rear.  The  Confederate  pickets  gave  three 
cheers  and  a  "  tiger"  for  the  Yankee  army,  which  the  Federal 
pickets  acknowledged  with  a  similar  compliment.  Then  the  Union 


234  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

soldiers  proposed  three  cheers  for  the  ladies  of  Petersburg,  which 
were  heartily  given,  and  was  taken  up  by  the  Confederate  troops 
with  equal  enthusiasm.  The  ladies  acknowledged  the  compliment 
by  waving  their  handkerchiefs.  The  works  of  the  main  line  had 
been  slightly  leveled  down  to  make  it  easier  for  the  party  to  pass 
through.  Mr.  Stephens  seemed  to  be  very  feeble  and  somewhat 
excited,  and  walked  very  slowly  to  the  ambulance,  where  he  had  to 
be  assisted  to  get  in. 

The  conference  resulted  in  total  failure,  the  commissioners 
asking  for  recognition  of  their  Confederacy  and  its  independence. 
President  Lincoln  demanded  the  disbandment  of  the  Confederate 
army  and  the  acknowledgment  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  the  return  of  the  Southern 
people  to  their  former  allegiance. 

Lieutenant  Henry  A.  Widdifield,  acting  quartermaster  of  the 
io4th  Regiment,  P.  V. ,  which  was  lying  at  Bermuda  Hundred, 
visited  his  Bucks  County  friends  in  the  battery  on  the  3oth.  This 
was  the  first  visit  received  from  any  one  of  that  regiment  since  the 
spring  of  1862,  when  the  regiment  and  battery  were  widely  sepa 
rated  in  different  commands  of  the  army. 

The  pieces  and  caissons  were  repainted,  the  harness  over 
hauled,  repaired,  greased  and  blackened,  and  everything  belonging 
to  the  outfit  of  the  battery  put  in  good  condition  for  the  spring 
campaign.  There  were  signs  of  a  coming  movement,  some  of  the 
troops  not  on  duty  in  the  trenches  being  placed  under  marching 
orders,  and  the  headquarter  orderlies  were  flying  from  post  to  post 
as  fast  as  their  horses  could  carry  them. 

The  batteries  all  fired  shotted  salutes  at  noon  on  the  2  2nd  in 
honor  of  Washington's  Birthday.  The  ever  welcome  paymaster 
dropped  in  on  the  battery  during  the  day,  and  gave  the  men  four 
months'  pay.  In  the  evening  orders  were  received  to  be  ready  to 
move  at  a  moment's  notice.  Everything  back  in  the  caisson  park 
was  packed  up,  and  the  bugle  call  for  "  Boots  and  Saddles"  was 
expected  the  next  morning.  There  was  much  conjecture  as  to 
what  movement  was  contemplated.  Some  thought  that  another 
detour  on  the  enemy's  flank  was  to  be  undertaken  ;  others  that  the 
Confederates  were  about  to  evacuate  Petersburg,  and  were  to  be 
hotly  pursued,  and  one  report  had  it  that  the  enemy  was  about  to 
assault  some  point  on  the  lines.  However,  no  orders  to  move 
were  given  on  this  occasion. 

Lieutenant  Mast  had  returned  from  his  leave  of  absence, after 


FORT  SEDGWICK 


THE  SIEGE  IN  WINTER.  235 

which  Lieutenant  Sailor  (on  February  6th)  started  for  his  home  in 
Reading.  Lieutenant  Cuffel  took  command  of  his  section,  then 
occupying  Battery  No.  21,  adjoining  Fort  Sedgwick.  The  num 
bered  batteries  were  strong  earthworks,  generally  a  part  of  the 
main  line,  and  located  between  the  larger  forts.  They  were 
designed  for  one  or  more  field  pieces,  and  were  open  at  the  rear. 
In  No.  21  was  also  stationed  a  section  of  twelve  pound  brass  pieces 
of  the  Sixth  Main  Battery,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Thorp. 
The  48th  Pennsylvania  was  the  infantry  support.  After  Lieutenant 
Sailor's  return  to  the  battery,  Captain  Rhoads  went  home  (on  the 
25th),  leaving  Sailor  in  command,  and  after  his  return  Lieutenant 
Lawrence  went  to  his  home  in  Chester  County  on  fifteen  days' 
leave  of  absence. 

(ieneral  Schofield's  victory  at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina, 
was  announced  to  the  troops  on  the  24th,  which  was  accompanied 
by  an  order  for  a  shotted  salute  of  one  hundred  guns.  The  battery 
took  part  in  this  salute,  each  of  its  guns  expending  one  shot.  The 
firing  began  on  the  right  of  the  Ninth  Corps  line,  and  extended  to 
the  left  of  it,  with  an  interval  of  ten  seconds  between  each  shot. 
One  of  the  shots  from  Cuffel's  guns  was  aimed  at  a  large  frame 
house  which  was  reported  to  be  the  headquarters  of  the  Confed 
erate  General  Wallace.  The  shot  did  not  quite  reach  the  house, 
but  struck  the  ground  a  short  distance  in  front  of  it.  The  shot 
from  the  other  gun  of  the  section  struck  the  rampart  of  one  of  the 
enemy's  forts.  But  one  shot  was  sent  by  the  enemy  in  reply  at 
this  point,  and  that  was  not  effective. 

( )n  the  previous  evening  the  mortars  located  a  short  distance 
to  the  right  of  Battery  No.  21  opened  on  the  enemy  to  ascertain 
whether  he  had  taken  away  his  artillery.  The  Confederates 
promptly  replied,  imparting  the  desired  information  by  sending 
over  a  shower  of  eight-inch  mortar  shells.  The  evacuation  of 
Petersburg  was  daily  anticipated,  which  called  for  untiring  watch 
fulness  on  the  enemy's  movements,  with  an  occasional  "feeler"  of 
his  artillery  strength.  Desertions  from  the  Confederate  lines  con 
tinued,  twenty- one  entering  the  line  of  three  Union  regiments  on 
the  night  of  the  24th,  twenty  of  whom  were  from  the  Twenty-sixth 
South  Carolina  Regiment.  It  became  quite  a  regular  practice  for 
the  Yankees  stationed  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Sedgwick  to  visit  the 
brigade  guard-house  in  the  morning,  to  see  how  many  "Johnnies" 
had  come  in  ;  especially  after  a  dark  or  stormy  night,  which  gen 
erally  brought  a  greater  number.  Some  came  in  with  their  arms, 


236  DURELL'S  BATTERY* 

being  encouraged  to  do  so  by  a  promise  of  pay  for  them  from  the 
Federal  authorities. 

On  March  ist,  the  Confederates  opened  an  unusually  heavy  fire 
of  artillery  on  the  Union  lines,  extending  from  Fort  Meikle  to  Fort 
Morton.  Lieutenant  Lawrence  replied  with  his  three  guns  and 
expended  forty-two  rounds  of  ammunition.  He  pursued  the  plan 
of  loading  his  guns  and  sighting  them  at  the  embrasures  of  the  en 
emy's  fort  in  front  of  him  and  waiting  until  they  fired.  Then  the 
command  "fire"  was  given,  and  Number  4  pulled  the  lanyard 
just  as  the  enemy's  cannoneers  stepped  up  to  their  piece  to  sponge 
and  load.  The  shells  that  exploded  in  the  embrasure  (and  a  num 
ber  of  them  reached  the  right  spot)  caught  them  uncovered,  and 
administered  severe  punishment.  The  enemy' s  guns  were  silenced. 

On  the  gth,  the  army  in  front  of  Petersburg  received  the  news 
of  Sheridan's  capture  of  Early' s  army  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 
The  announcement  of  this  victory  was  received  in  the  camps  and 
trenches  with  cheers  and  much  rejoicing.  The  weather  was  now 
warm  and  pleasant,  the  mud  rapidly  drying  up,  and  the  roads  get 
ting  into  a  condition  to  permit  the  march  of  an  army.  It  was  ex 
pected  that  an  active  campaign  would  soon  open  when  the  long 
siege  of  Petersburg  would  be  brought  to  an  end.  A  movement 
was  momentarily  expected  on  the  lyth.  The  troops  were  ordered 
to  keep  eight  days'  rations  on  hand,  and  to  send  all  surplus  bag 
gage  to  City  Point.  The  soldiers  were  sure  that  "Grant  would 
force  Bobby  Lee  out  of  his  hole  this  time. ' '  All  was  quiet  along 
the  lines  in  front  of  the  city,  with  the  exception  of  the  usual  picket 
fire  during  the  night,  and  an  occasional  duel  between  the  heavier 
guns  or  mortars.  Sometimes  the  enemy  opened  with  his  artillery 
to  which  no  reply  was  made  from  the  Union  side,  but  every  move 
ment  of  the  enemy  was  closely  watched.  At  this  time  th.re  had 
been  no  mortar  duels  for  two  weeks. 

A  large  force  of  men  were  set  to  work  in  the  construction  of 
a  line  of  earthworks,  which  extended  from  a  point  a  short  distance 
to  the  left  of  Fort  Sedgwick  back  to  the  rear  line,  and  also  in 
strengthening  the  rear  line  of  works.  This  looked  very  much  as 
though  the  long  line  of  investment  extending  to  the  left  from  Fort 
Sedgwick  was  to  be  abandoned. 

About  this  time  the  enemy's  cavalry,  under  General  Wade 
Hampton,  passing  the  extreme  left  of  the  Union  lines  and  then 
going  south,  got  in  east  of  the  Union  Army.  Before  their  pres 
ence  was  known,  they  had  driven  off  a  large  number  of  beef  cattle 


THE  SIEGE  IN  WINTER.  237 

that  were  grazing  in  that  locality.  It  was  a  very  clever  manoeuvre, 
and  a  rich  prize  for  the  enemy,  whose  troops  were  on  a  short  al 
lowance  of  fresh  beef.  This  incident  caused  quite  a  sensation  in 
the  camps  ;  but,  like  previous  forays  of  the  enemy,  soon  ceased  to 
be  a  subject  of  comment,  being  overshadowed  by  other  events  of 
almost  dailv  occurrence. 


238  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

BATTLE  OF  FORT  STEAD  MAN. 

\/\  ARCH  25th  marked  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  the  siege 
_/  \_  of  Petersburg,  when  Lee  made  an  assault  and  cut  the 
Federal  line  at  Fort  Steadman.  The  blow  was  struck  by 
General  Gordon  with  two  of  his  divisions,  while  20,000  more  men 
were  massed  to  follow  up  the  assault  in  case  an  opening  was  made 
at  Fort  Steadman,  and  the  crest  in  its  rear  was  gained.  At  4  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  officer  on  duty  made  his  rounds  along  the  picket 
line  ;  the  men  were  alert,  and  there  was  no  indication  of  any  move 
ment  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  Gordon's  troops  were  then  as 
sembled  at  a  point  between  Fort  Steadman  and  Battery  No.  10, 
where  the  lines  were  close  together,  ready  for  his  attack.  Taking 
advantage  of  his  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  deserters  had  been 
coming  into  the  Union  lines,  often  bringing  their  arms  with  them, 
General  Gordon  sent  his  pickets,  with  their  arms,  creeping  through 
to  the  Union  pickets. 

Soon  after  the  officer  had  passed  by  on  his  rounds,  squad  after 
squad,  announcing  themselves  as  deserters,  began  to  drop  in.  The 
occurrence  had  come  to  be  so  common  that  no  alarm  was  taken. 
Suddenly  these  squads  dashed  upon  the  pickets,  overpowered  them, 
and  sent  them  to  the  rear  as  prisoners.  In  the  main  line  the  men 
were  sleeping  serenely  as  if  in  perfect  safety.  At  the  same  moment 
the  near  Confederate  abatis  was  opened  and  three  strong  columns 
emerged  and  carried  Fort  Steadman  and  Battery  No.  10  with  a 
rush.  The  distance  that  Gordon's  men  had  to  charge  was  not 
much  over  fifty  yards.  The  garrison,  500  strong,  were  made  pris 
oners.  Continuing  the  charge  the  enemy  also  carried  batteries  n 
and  12  to  the  Union  left,  which  they  turned  toward  City  Point. 
A  gap  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  had  been  made  in  the  Union  lines,  an 
opening  large  enough  to  give  passage  to  the  force  of  20,000  which 
had  been  massed  to  follow  up  the  assault. 

The  situation  had  assumed  a  grave  aspect  for  the  Federals, 
with  the  prospect  of  Meade  Station,  with  its  valuable  stores  of  army- 
supplies  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  General  Parke,  com- 


OF 


MAJOR-GENERAL  JOHN    F.   HARTRANFT 


BATTLE  OF  FORT  STEADMAN.  239 

manding  the  Ninth  Corps,  held  the  lines  for  a  long  distance  to  the 
right  and  left  of  Fort  Steadman.  General  Meade  happened  to  be 
at  City  Point,  and  this  break  cut  him  off  from  communication  with 
his  headquarters.  Parke  promptly  made  preparations  to  drive  the 
enemy  back,  summoning  Wright  and  Warren  to  move  troops  toward 
the  point  assailed,  but  before  they  could  come  up  the  Ninth  Corps 
had  done  the  work,  General  Tidball,  Chief  of  Artillery  of  the 
Ninth  Corps,  gathered  a  large  number  of  pieces  of  artillery  and 
planted  them  upon  the  crest  in  the  rear  of  the  captured  works, 
sweeping  the  space  between  the  lines  thoroughly,  which  effectually 
stopped  the  advance. 

General  Hartranft,  commanding  the  Third  Division,  composed 
of  recruits  from  Pennsylvania,  was  encamped  in  reserve  a  mile  or 
more  distant.  His  division  had  sprung  to  arms  and  came  up  on 
the  double-quick,  arriving  just  in  time  to  save  Meade  Station  from 
capture.  General  Willcox  was  also  soon  out  with  his  troops 

Hartranft,  to  the  right  of  the  breach,  headed  the  Confederates 
off  in  that  direction  and  rapidly  drove  them  back  into  Fort  Stead 
man.  On  the  other  side  they  were  driven  into  the  intrenchments 
which  they  had  captured,  and  batteries  1 1  and  1 2  were  retaken  by 
Willcox  early  in  the  morning.  Parke  then  threw  a  line  around 
outside  of  the  captured  fort  and  batteries,  and  communication  was 
once  more  restored.  The  artillery  fire  was  kept  up  so  continuously  that 
it  was  impossible  for  the  Confederates  to  retreat,  and  equally  im 
possible  for  reinforcements  to  join  them.  Forts  Haskell  on  the 
left  and  McGilvery  on  the  right,  swept  the  narrow  space  to  the 
Confederate  lines  with  a  lire  under  which  no  troops  could  live, 

Gordon's  troops  now  crouched  in  disorder  behind  the  breast 
works  which  they  had  captured.  General  Hartranft  was  about  to 
attempt  the  recapture  of  Fort  Steadman,  when  he  was  ordered  to 
wait  for  the  arrival  of  older  troops — a  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps, 
for  which  cars  had  been  hurried  up  the  road.  After  chafing  under 
the  restraint  for  some  time  he  was  permitted  to  assault,  when  he 
dashed  upon  the  works  with  his  Pennsylvanians,  leading  them  in 
person,  and  captured  the  fort.  Some  of  the  Confederates  ran  the 
gauntlet  of  the  terrible  cross-fire  and  got  back  to  their  own  lines, 
but  nearly  3,000  of  them  were  taken  prisoners. 

This  effort  of  Lee's  cost  him  about  4,000  men,  and  resulted  in 
the  killing,  wounding  and  capturing  of  about  2,000  Union  soldiers. 
The  loss  in  Hartranft' s  command  was  about  150  men.  The  ground 
inside  and  outside  of  the  works  was  thickly  strewn  with  the  Confed- 


240  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

era'e  dead.  The  artillery  occupying  the  forts  for  some  distance 
from  the  breach  took  part  in  the  battle,  Rhoads'  Battery  partici 
pating.  Its  guns  in  Fort  Meikle,  were  in  closer  proximity  to  the 
captured  works  than  the  other  guns  of  the  battery,  and  were,  there 
fore,  more  actively  engaged  than  those  in  Forts  Rice  and  Sedgwick. 

The  conflict  at  Fort  Steadman  was  finished  before  9  o'clock, 
only  a  portion  of  the  Ninth  Corps  having  taken  part  in  it.  Meade 
soon  after  came  upon  the  field,  and  in  the  afternoon  pushed  for 
ward  the  Second  and  Sixth  Corps  to  feel  the  enemy  in  their  respec 
tive  fronts.  After  a  fierce  struggle  the  strong  Confederate  picket 
lines  were  carried,  and  held  in  spite  of  desperate  attempts  to  retake 
them.  This,  in  turn,  gave  them  but  a  short  distance  to  charge 
over  when  the  attack  on  the  enemy  came  to  be  made  a  few  days 
later. 

Sheridan's  cavalry,  which  had  raided  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
tearing  up  railroads  and  destroying  much  property  of  value  to  the 
enemy,  down  to  the  outer  works  of  Richmond,  arrived  at  the 
Petersburg  lines  on  the  2yth,  and  encamped  a  short  distance  in 
rear  of  the  battery  park.  The  horses  were  jaded  and  many  of  them 
had  lost  their  shoes.  A  few  days  of  rest  was  necessary  to  recuper 
ate  the  animals  and  to  have  them  shod  and  put  in  condition  for 
moving.  The  enemy  opened  his  Whitworths  upon  the  long  column 
as  it  marched  along  the  rear  of  the  Union  line,  but  the  distance 
was  too  great  for  effective  shots.  General  Hartranft's  headquar 
ters,  located  in  the  vicinity,  were  on  several  occasions  the  target  for 
the  shots  of  these  guns,  but  they  inflicted  little  or  no  damage. 
The  Seven  Sisters  replied  to  the  enemy's  fire  upon  the  cavalry  and 
soon  silenced  his  guns. 

The  granting  of  furloughs  and  leaves  of  absence  was  now 
stopped,  and  all  indications  pointed  to  active  service  for  the  near 
future.  Every  necessary  preparation  was  made  to  place  the  bat 
tery  in  perfect  condition  for  marching  and  fighting.  Lieutenant 
Sailor  was  returned  to  the  command  of  his  section  occupying 
Battery  No.  21,  relieving  Lieutenant  Cuffel,  who  was  sent  to  Fort 
Meikle,  where  he  joined  Lieutenant  Lawrence,  taking  command  of 
his  own  section  of  guns  stationed  in  that  fort. 


CAPTURE  OK  PETERSBURG.  241 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

CAPTURE  OF  PETERSBURG. 

THE  greater  portion  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  moved 
out  against  the  enemy's  flank  beyond  Hatcher's  Run, 
leaving  the  Ninth  Corps  alone  in  front  of  Petersburg. 
Sheridan  had  met  and  defeated  a  strong  Confederate  force  at  Five 
Forks  on  April  ist,  and  Parke  was  ordered  to  assault  the  works  in 
his  front,  which  were  the  strongest  portion  of  their  defences,  at  4 
o'clock  the  next  morning. 

There  was  a  meeting  of  all  the  battery  commanders  of  the 
corps  at  (General  TidbalFs  headquarters  that  night  about  10 
o'clock,  and  orders  were  issued  for  a  general  bombardment,  which 
was  intended  to  cover  an  advance  of  the  infantry.  General  Tidball 
also  gave  orders  for  every  battery  of  artillery  to  be  ready  to  move 
in  any  direction  at  a  moment's  notice. 

The  flash  and  roar  of  the  signal  gun  near  the  A  very  House 
that  turned  loose  the  dogs  of  war  found  the  cannoneers  of  Rhoads' 
Battery  at  their  posts  ready  for  action.  Long  experience  had  given 
them  the  range  and  knowledge  of  the  proper  length  of  fuse,  and 
instantly  the  guns  were  once  more  dropping  masses  of  shrieking, 
explosive  metal  upon  the  heads  of  the  enemy.  The  bombardment 
grew  furious  as  it  extended  along  the  whole  line,  sweeping  from  the 
north  of  Petersburg  clear  around  to  Hatcher's  Run,  and  the  balls 
fairly  crashed  through  the  streets  of  Petersburg.  The  Confederate 
artillery  replied  with  vigor,  making  this  last  bombardment  of  the 
war  the  heaviest  and  most  terrific  in  the  experience  of  the  battery. 

This  bombardment  was  kept  up  for  several  hours,  when  the 
order  came  to  cease  firing.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this  cessation 
to  replenish  the  stock  of  ammunition,  each  gun  receiving  an  extra 
supply.  Shortly  after  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  order  came  to 
reopen  fire,  which  was  done  with  cheerful  promptness.  The  sight 
was  one  rarely  seen.  From  countless  muzzles  on  either  side  there 
seemed  to  spurt  a  constant  stream  of  living  fire  as  the  shells 
screamed  and  hissed  through  the  night  in  a  semicircle  of  lurid 
flame.  The  constant  roar  of  the  field  guns  and  mortars,  accom 
panied  by  the  sharp  detonations  of  exploding  projectiles,  was 


242  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

deafening.      Dense  banks  of  battle-smoke  hung  in  the  air,  pierced 
by  fiery  shafts  spitefully  blazing  their  course  to  the  mark. 

Parke  was  ordered  to  assault  the  works  in  his  front  at  4 
o'clock,  but  the  night  was  so  dark  that  the  men  could  not  see  to 
move  ;  so  the  bombardment  was  kept  up  with  relentless  fury  until 
there  was  light  enough  for  the  movement,  which  began  about  5 
in  the  morning. 

The  general  plan  for  the  Ninth  Corps  was  that  Willcox's 
Division  should  make  a  feint  in  front  of  Fort  Steadman,  while  the 
divisions  of  Potter  and  Hartranft  were  to  make  the  assault  to  the 
left,  from  Fort  Sedgwick.  Each  column  was  accompanied  by 
pioneers  with  axes.  Willcox's  feint  was  successful,  his  division 
carrying  the  whole  outer  line  in  his  front,  causing  the  Confederates 
to  concentrate  a  heavy  force  to  stay  their  further  advance.  Then 
the  signal  was  given  for  the  opening  of  the  main  assault.  The 
troops,  eager  to  avenge  their  former  repulse  at  the  explosion  of  the 
mine  eight  months  before,  sprang  forward  with  a  rush,  and  in  the 
teeth  of  a  deadly  storm  of  grape,  canister  and  musketry,  plunged 
through  the  ditch,  tore  away  the  abatis  and  charged  without  flinch 
ing  directly  on  till  they  mounted  the  parapets  and  threw  themselves 
inside  of  the  enemy's  lines. 

Fort  Mahone  and  a  considerable  length  of  line  was  captured, 
but  the  outer  was  so  near  the  inner  line  which  closely  enveloped 
the  City  of  Petersburg  that  no  advance  forward  could  be  made. 
The  movements  of  the  combatants  could  only  be  seen  by  watching 
the  lines  of  opposing  fire  which  gradually  approached  as  the  Union 
troops  pressed  on  through  and  over  the  obstructions  which  barred 
their  path.  At  last  a  mighty  shout  was  heard,  which  meant  the 
triumph  of  the  Federals.  The  shout  was  taken  up  and  carried  to 
the  rear,  where  all  the  wagoners  and  camp-followers  waited  in 
breathless  expectancy. 

Hartranft' s  Division  captured  twelve  guns  and  800  prisoners. 
Potter's  Division,  next  on  the  left,  attacked  with  equal  vigor  ;  and, 
in  spite  of  the  most  gallant  opposition,  pressed  the  enemy  clear 
back  to  his  interior  cordon  of  works.  This  inner  line  had  within 
the  last  few  months  been  most  elaborately  fortified.  From  it  the 
position  gained  by  Parke  was  swept  on  the  right  and  left  by  an 
enfilading  fire  of  artillery.  Potter  made  a  determined  but  unsuc 
cessful  effort  to  force  this  inner  cordon.  He  fell  severely  wounded. 
But  the  assault  by  Sheridan  on  the  far  left,  and  Wright  between, 
had  met  with  such  success  that  there  was  no  need  for  the  Ninth 





I    * 


*t 


:. 

' 


CAPTURE  OF  PETERSBURG.  243 

Corps  to  carry  the  lines  opposed  to  them.  Parke  was  directed  not 
to  advance  unless  he  saw  the  way  clear  to  success,  but  to  strengthen 
his  position  so  as  to  hold  it  against  any  assailing  force.  Sheridan's 
victory  at  the  Five  Forks  and  Wright's  piercing  of  the  Confederate 
lines  had,  in  a  few  hours,  solved  the  long  questioned  problem  of 
the  siege  of  Petersburg.  It  was,  indeed,  a  serious  task  for  Parke 
to  turn  the  lines  which  he  had  captured  to  the  defence  of  his  own 
troops  and  to  hold  them.  A  portion  of  the  line  was  held  by  the 
enemy  on  the  inside,  while  the  ditch  on  the  outside  was  occupied 
by  Union  infantry.  Both  sides  kept  tinder  close  cover,  raising 
their  rifles  at  arms  length  horizontally  above  their  heads  discharged 
them  over  the  parapet  at  each  other.  The  ditches  contained  some 
water,  in  which  the  troops  stood  and  fought,  many  of  them  being 
literally  plastered  over  with  mud  before  the  close  of  the  day. 

Lee  made  frantic  efforts  to  recover  this  portion  of  the  line. 
He  assaulted  repeatedly  with  reinforcements,  but  every  effort  was 
repulsed.  In  one  of  these  assaults  Kort  Mahone  fell  again,  tem 
porarily,  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  So  threatening  were  these 
assaults  in  the  afternoon,  that  two  brigades  were  ordered  up  from 
City  Point  and  one  from  the  Sixth  Corps  to  reinforce  the  hard- 
pressed  line,  conspicuous  among  which  were  the  red  caps  and 
trousers  of  the  ii4th  Pennsylvania  (Collis'  Zouaves)  who  had  been 
performing  guard  duty. 

Fort  Mahone  was  soon  recaptured,  and  Parke  wished  to  renew 
the  assault  which  had  been  closed  in  the  morning  ;  but  finding  that 
his  men  were  greatly  exhausted,  he  decided  merely  to  make  his 
position  perfectly  secure,  and  take  advantage  of  any  movement  the 
enemy  might  make  showing  an  intention  of  evacuating  his  position. 
With  the  addition  of  the  reinforcements  the  better  defence  of  the 
captured  works  were  completed,  and  an  intrenched  line  built  back 
from  the  right,  so  as  to  protect  the  flank.  An  abatis  was  also  car 
ried  in  and  placed  in  front  of  the  captured  position.  Even  after 
this  was  done,  Lee  brought  additional  troops  and  artillery  against 
Parke,  and  made  several  assaults  with  very  heavy  losses. 

After  the  bombardment  had  ceased,  the  men  of  Lieutenant 
Sailor's  section  had  nothing  to  do  for  a  time  but  to  act  as  specta 
tors  of  the  operations  of  the  infantry.  Some  time  after  daylight  a 
staff  officer  came  up  to  the  lieutenant  and  ordered  him  to  advance 
with  his  men  across  to  the  support  of  the  infantry,  and  work  some 
guns  in  one  of  the  captured  forts  to  the  left  of  Fort  Mahone.  The 
orders  were  urgent  and  Lieutenant  Sailor  at  once  set  out  with 


244  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

his  men  for  the  front.  Every  confidence  was  placed  in  the  lieuten 
ant,  who  was  a  capable  and  brave  officer.  It  was  well  understood 
that  the  duty  to  be  performed  was  one  of  great  peril.  Each  man 
was  given  full  instructions  as  to  his  proper  place  and  duty,  and  then 
the  command  started  on  a  lively  run  over  the  open  space  for  the 
designated  spot.  The  trip  was  in  no  sense  a  pleasure  excursion. 
Although  dislodged  in  the  immediate  front,  the  Confederates  were 
still  well  posted  on  both  right  and  left,  and  had  a  converging  fire 
on  the  open  space  over  which  the  troops  passed  toward  Fort 
Mahone,  which  they  raked  vigorously  with  both  cannon  and  mus 
ketry. 

Fortunately,  none  of  Sailor's  men  were  struck,  and  when  they 
halted  in  front  of  the  captured  fort  for  a  few  moment's  breathing 
spell,  they  found  the  ditch  filled  with  infantry,  who  were  not  a  little 
demoralized  by  their  early  morning  experience.  A  number  of  the 
troops  had  never  been  under  fire  before,  but  the  dead  and  wounded 
were  plentiful  enough  to  attest  their  valor  when  the  assault  was 
made.  Shortly  before  Sailor's  arrival  the  Confederates  had  been 
reinforced,  and  the  Union  line  had  been  pressed  back  upon  the 
works.  To  the  unarmed  artillerymen  the  prospect  at  that  moment 
was  not  particularly  pleasant  to  contemplate.  Through  the  em 
brasures  they  could  see  the  guns  they  were  expected  to  man,  but 
beyond  them  the  enemy's  sharpshooters  were  well  intrenched  in 
the  traverses,  and  had  a  good  range  on  the  guns,  unprotected  as 
they  were  at  the  rear.  It  looked  like  a  veritable  death  trap,  but 
there  was  nothing  to  do  but  go  ahead. 

The  progress  through  the  embrasures  was  a  series  of  jumps, 
rolls  and  short  runs,  seeking  any  protection  that  offered  from  the 
enfilading  fire.  At  the  same  moment  the  infantry  opened  the  as 
sault  with  renewed  fury,  and  succeeded  in  pressing  back  the  Con 
federate  line  and  dislodging  many  of  the  troublesome  sharpshooters. 
There  was  a  full  battery  of  field  guns  in  this  fort,  one  of  them  still 
pointing  its  grim  muzzle  toward  the  Union  lines,  and  another  had 
been  run  back  a  short  distance  and  spiked.  The  magazine  con 
tained  a  good  supply  of  ammunition.  Sailor  ordered  his  men  to 
their  places,  which  order  they  promptly  obeyed,  although  the  air 
seemed  alive  with  flying  metal.  They  began  to  serve  up  Confed 
erate  shells  out  of  Confederate  guns  that  a  few  hours  before  had 
been  directed  at  them  After  continuing  in  action  for  some  time 
the  batterymen  were  relieved  and  ordered  to  return  to  their  own 
guns.  The  space  between  the  lines  was  still  exposed  to  a  hot  fire 


CAPTURK  OF  PETERSBURG.  245 


from  the  enemy's  guns,  which  continued  to  belch  forth  canister 
and  shells  upon  the  troops  occupying  his  broken  lines.  Lieuten 
ant  Sailor  and  his  men  succeeded,  however,  by  a  series  of  tactics 
in  running  and  dropping  upon  the  ground  at  short  intervals  in 
returning  to  their  own  guns  unharmed. 

The  guns  of  Lieutenants  Lawrence's  and  Cuffel's  command 
in  Fort  Meikle  were  kept  hot  during  the  greater  portion  of  the 
day.  The  enemy  still  held  his  lines  intact  in  the  immediate 
front  of  Fort  Meikle,  upon  which  the  shots  of  the  guns  were 
directed  whenever  any  movement  of  troops  in  front  of  them  was. 
observed.  The  marksmanship  of  the  gunners  was,  for  the  most 
part,  excellent,  many  of  the  shots  striking  the  earthworks,  some  of 
them  entering  the  embrasures  of  the  fortifications,  which  inflicted 
upon  the  enemy  considerable  demorilization  and  damage.  As. 
opportunity  offered  he  ventured  a  reply  of  a  shot  now  and  then 
which  would  bring  on  a  fusilade  from  the  guns  of  Fort  Meikle  and 
the  ''Seven  Sisters,"  the  latter  being  located  on  a  hill  in  rear  of 
Fort  Meikle. 

During  the  progress  of  one  of  these  bombardments,  Corporal 
George  Hart,  emisted  from  Reading,  had  his  right  arm  shattered 
by  the  premature  discharge  of  the  gun  which  he  was  serving  in  the 
capacity  of  rammer  and  sponger.  He  was  in  the  act  of  ramming 
home  the  charge  of  powder  which  was  ignited  by  sparks  of  fire 
left  in  the  bore  of  the  gun  from  the  previous  discharge  through 
imperfect  sponging.  The  force  of  the  explosion  threw  the  ram 
mer  many  yards  beyond  the  Union  line,  and  struck  the  corporal  to 
the  ground.  It  was  a  very  unfortunate  occurrence.  He  had  just 
been  changed  from  his  regular  post  as  gunner  of  the  piece  by  the- 
officer  in  command  to  that  of  rammer,  in  which  duty  he  was  not 
so  well  experienced.  Excited  and  confused  by  the  change  of 
position,  he  inadvertantly  failed  to  properly  sponge  the  bore  of  the 
piece,  and  the  dangerous  spark  remained.  He  was  carried  to  the 
Ninth  Corps  hospital,  where  his  arm  was  amputated  at  the  elbow. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  Confederates  on  horseback  were  seen  to- 
enter  the  fort  in  front  of  Fort  Meikle,  which  were  presumed  to  be 
artillery  drivers  come  to  remove  their  guns ;  but  a  few  well 
directed  shots  caused  them  to  retire  on  a  hot  gallop.  It  was 
thought  that  the  enemy's  movements  indicated  an  intention  to 
withdraw  from  his  hard  pressed  lines.  And  now  could  be  seen  the 
^moke  of  Sheridan's  bursting  shells  over  and  far  beyond  the  Con 
federate  line  of  works,  showing  to  the  troops  battling  before  the 


246  DUR  ELL' sf  BATTERY. 

city  that  he  was  doubling  up  and  pushing  the  enemy's  right  back 
towards  Petersburg.  It  was  an  inspiring  sight  to  the  troops  who 
had  been  in  the  trenches  in  front  of  the  city  so  many  months,  and 
hailed  as  an  assurance  that  the  end  was  in  sight. 

During  the  night  additional  troops  came  up,  and  dispositions 
were  made  to  advance  the  whole  line  at  daybreak.  The  battery 
was  ordered  to  stock  the  ammunition  chests  with  a  full  supply  of 
projectiles  and  be  in  readiness  tojmove  at  a  moment's  notice.  All 
felt  that  an  important  movement  was  in  contemplation  and  that 
the  dissolution  of  the  Army  of  Northern* Virginia  was  near  at  hand. 
There  was  little  sleep  for  the  troops  in  the  trenches  in  front  of 
Petersburg  that  night.  The  anxious  expectations  of  the  morrow 
dispelled  the  muse,  hard  as  had  been  the  work  of  the  day.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  night  the  moon*shone  brightly,  making  work 
on  the  lines  and  the  removal  of  the  dead  and  the  wounded  peril 
ous  in  the  extreme,  for  the  skirmish  firing  was  kept  up  until  after 
midnight. 

The  night  had  almost  passed  before  any  movement  indicating 
that  the  enemy  was  evacuating  was  detected.  At  2  o'clock  in  the 
morning  the  Confederate  pickets  were  still  out,  but  the  evacuation 
had  commenced  in  the  darkness  hours  before.  By  3  o'clock  their 
troops  were  all  across  the  river  and  the  only  bridge  was  in  flames, 
while  the  air  was  luminous  with  the  glare  of  the  burning  ware 
houses.  The  explosion  of  magazines  Vas  taken  up  all  along  the 
line  to  Richmond,  indicating  that  the  evacuation  was  accomplished 
and  the  Confederate  army  in  full  retreat. 


PURSUIT  AND  SURRENDER  OF  LEE.  247 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

PURSUIT  AND  SURRENDER  OF  LEE. 

AT  last,  after  nearly  ten  months  of  hard  work,  the  troops  of 
the  Ninth  Corps  had  the  privilege  of  marching  into  Peters 
burg,  a  city  that  had  been  most  stubbornly  defended.  All 
rejoiced  that  the  end  had  come.  This  corps  was  the  first  of  the 
troops  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  assault  Petersburg,  and  it 
was  fitting  that  it  should  be  the  first  to  enter  the  city. 

The  skirmishers  were  at  once  pressed  forward  after  the  occur 
rence  of  the  explosions  and  other  indications  of  evacuation,  but 
they  found  no  trace  of  an  enemy.  The  Confederates  left  hun 
dreds  of  cannon  in  the  fortifications  and  all  of  their  mortars.  The 
infantry  of  the  corps  went  forward  and  was  met  by  the  Mayor  and 
a  deputation  from  the  Common  Council,  who  announced  that  the 
city,  having  been  evacuated,  was  formally  surrendered,  and  asked 
for  the  protection  of  the  persons  and  property  of  the  inhabitants. 
At  half-past  4  o'clock  the  flag  of  the  ist  Michigan  regiment  was 
raised  upon  the  court  house. 

The  guns  of  the  battery  were  taken  out  of  the  fortifications 
which  they  had  occupied  all  winter,  and  moved  back  to  the  caisson 
park.  In  compliance  with  general  orders  from  army  headquarters, 
commanding  that  all  batteries  should  at  once  be  reduced  to  a  four- 
gun  footing,  Lieutenant  CufTel  marched  his  section  on  that  after 
noon  to  City  Point,  and  turned  the  two  guns  and  two  caissons  of 
his  command  over  to  the  ordnance  department.  The  harness 
equipment  of  the  section  was  also  turned  in,  but  the  horses  were 
retained  to  supply  future  needs. 

The  battery  moved  forward  to  Cemetery  Hill  on  the  morning 
of  the  4th,  crossing  the  deserted  earthworks  of  both  the  Union  and 
Confederate  lines,  and  parked  on  the  hill.  This  ground  was  made 
famous  by  the  charge  of  the  colored  troops  and  their  repulse  on 
the  occasion  of  the  springing  of  the  Burnside  mine.  The  camp 
ground  selected,  beside  the  cemetery,  was  a  splendid  spot,  afford 
ing  a  good  view  of  the  city  on  one  side,  and  of  the  fortified  lines  of 
both  armies  on  the  other.  The  grass  was  springing  up  green  and 
beautiful,  and  the  peach  and  cherry  trees  were  in  full  bloom.  The 


248  t)URELL*S    BATTERY. 

cemetery  grounds  had,  no  doubt,  been  very  pretty  before  the 
siege,  but  now  a  great  many  of  the  monuments  and  headstones 
bore  the  marks  of  minnie  balls,  and  some  had  been  knocked  over 
and  broken  by  cannon  balls.  The  grounds  bore  evidence  of  having 
been  tramped  upon  by  troops  and  were  in  a  dilapidated  condition. 

In  the  evening  the  battery  marched  through  Petersburg  to 
the  upper  section  of  the  city,  known  as  Halifax,  and  parked  on  a 
beautiful  green  lawn  located  near  one  of  the  principal  streets.  On 
the  afternoon  of  the  5th  the  march  was  again  taken  up,  with  the 
First  Division,  under  General  Willcox,  proceeding  out  along  the 
South  Side  Railroad  to  Southerlancl  Station,  where  bivouac  was 
made  for  the  night. 

The  next  morning  the  column  advanced  to  the  Beaseley  House, 
beyond  Ford  Station,  and  encamped.  The  sound  of  cannonading 
came  in  from  the  front,  which  drew  no  nearer  as  the  command 
advanced,  indicating  that  the  enemy  was  still  retreating,  but 
showing  fight.  Information  came  in  from  the  front  that  Sheri 
dan  with  his  cavalry  and  the  Sixth  Corps  had  overtaken  the 
fleeing  Confederates  and  captured  several  thousand  of  them,  be 
sides  nineteen  pieces  of  artillery  and  150  baggage  wagons.  This 
news  put  the  men  in  the  highest  spirit,  and  all  believed  that  the 
rebellion  was  virtually  at  an  end. 

The  country  about  Ford  Station,  which  had  not  been  despoiled 
by  the  continued  occupation  of  soldiers,  was  beautiful  in  com 
parison  with  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Petersburg,  which  had  been 
shorn  of  fences,  houses  and  trees,  its  surface  presenting  nothing 
but  a  great  mass  of  earthworks  resembling  the  work  of  volcanic 
convulsions,  now  made  still  more  unsightly  by  the  forlorn  spectacle 
of  forsaken  camp  grounds. 

At  every  stage  of  the  march  were  seen  evidences  of  the  hasty 
flight  of  the  Confederate  Army.  Baggage  wagons  and  artillery 
were  abandoned  ;  arms  and  camp  utensils  strewed  the  path  of  their 
retreat  General  Ord's  Corps  followed  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
altering  the  gauge  of  the  South  Side  Railroad  so  as  to  conform  with 
that  of  the  military  road  from  City  Point.  The  Ninth  Corps  fol 
lowed  Ord,  being  stretched  out  along  the  railroad  to  keep  com 
munication  open  with  the  front,  the  road  being  exposed  to  guerilla 
raids. 

The  news  of  Lee's  surrender  to  Grant  reached  the  battery 
while  it  was  encamped  at  the  Beaseley  House,  and  was  a  piece  of 
intelligence  which  caused  the  greatest  rejoicing  among  the  troops. 


PURSUIT  AND  SURRENDER  OF  I,EE. 

All  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  war  was  ended  ;  that  they  had 
seen  their  last  fight  ;  that  the  sacrifices  of  precious  life  and  the 
hardships  and  struggles  of  nearly  four  years'  service  had  now  borne 
the  precious  fruit  of  a  country  saved,  and  that  the  next  great  event 
of  their  life  would  be  the  muster  out  of  service.  It  was  one  of  the 
happy  days  of  army  experience. 

The  battery  remained  at  the  Beaseley  House  until  the  i4th, 
when  it  moved  down  the  railroad  three  miles  to  Wright  Station, 
and  on  the  day  following  to  Wilson  Station,  where  the  sad  intelli 
gence  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  was  received. 
From  great  rejoicing  over  the  virtual  close  of  the  war,  the  spirit  of 
the  troops  was  suddenly  plunged  into  gloom  that  was  black  and 
deep,  over  this  terrible  calamity.  Nearly  every  soldier  regarded 
the  death  of  the  beloved  President  as  a  personal  bereavement. 
The  bugle  called  the  men  together  and  the  dispatch  was  read  to  the 
command  which  was  as  silent  as  death  during  the  reading.  After 
the  parade  was  dismissed  the  men  gathered  in  little  groups  about 
the  quarters  and  spoke  in  tender  tones  of  the  martyred  President, 
whom  they  greatly  honored  and  loved.  The  day  was  properly  ob 
served  throughout  the  army.  All  duty  that  could  be  dispensed 
with  was  suspended  ;  flags  were  placed  at  half  mast  and  twenty- 
one  guns  were  fired  at  meridian. 


t)uRELL's  BATTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
RETURN  TO  WASHINGTON. 

'S  troopers  marched  by  the  battery  camp  on  the 
iyth,  on  their  way  from  the  front  to  City  Point.  On  the 
2oth  the  Ninth  Corps  broke  camp  and  marched  towards 
Petersburg,  the  artillery  moving  by  a  different  road  from  that  taken 
by  the  infantry.  This  gave  a  clear  course  for  the  battery  to  march 
twenty-five  miles,  which  it  made  from  the  starting  time  at  10 
o'clock  in  the  morning  until  dusk  in  the  evening,  when  it  parked 
its  guns  a  few  miles  south  of  Petersburg.  It  was  a  good  day's 
march  for  artillery.  The  march  was  resumed  the  next  morning, 
passing  through  Petersburg. 

A  great  change  had  taken  place  in  the  city  since  the  battery 
had  left  it  on  the  5th.  Nearly  all  the  stores  and  other  places  of 
business  were  open,  occupied  principally  by  army  suttlers  and 
merchants  just  arrived  from  the  North,  who  had  hastened  to  this 
point  to  catch  the  army  trade.  Moving  on,  the  battery  went  into 
park  within  a  mile  of  City  Point  at  about  noon,  with  orders  to  await 
transportation  to  Washington.  All  the  troops  of  the  Ninth  Corps 
arrived  during  the  afternoon  and  went  into  camp  in  the  vicinity  of 
City  Point. 

Several  days  of  irksome  camp  life  were  spent  here.  The  men 
were  impatient  to  move  on  to  Washington  and  from  thence  to 
their  homes.  The  welcome  order  to  move  to  the  wharf  and 
embark  as  quickly  as  possible  was  received  at  4  o'clock  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  25th.  In  fifteen  minutes  everything  was  packed 
up,  the  tents  struck,  the  horses  hitched  to  the  gun  carriages  and 
the  battery  moving  out  of  park.  It  had  been  done  in  less  time 
when  under  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  shells,  but  fifteen  minutes  was 
considered  quick  time  for  a  battery  to  pack  up  and  move.  Captain 
Rhoads  claimed  that  it  was  ample  time,  and  had  drilled  the  battery 
repeatedly  on  this  important  movement.  General  Tidball,  Chief 
of  Artillery,  Ninth  Corps,  and  Major  Miller,  inspecting  officer, 
both  commended  the  battery  for  its  general  efficiency. 

Arrived  at  the  wharf  a  steam  ferry  boat  was  found  in  waiting, 
upon  which  the  battery  immediately  commenced  to  embark.  The 


TO  WASHINGTON.  25! 

carriages  and  the  greater  number  of  the  horses  were  stowed  in 
this  boat,  and  the  remaining  horses  were  loaded  on  a  tug.  The 
speed  made  in  loading  horses,  guns  and  everything  pertaining  to 
the  battery,  was  a  record  breaker.  The  men  had  had  some 
experience  on  this  line,  in  its  travels  by  rail  to  the  Ohio  River  and 
return,  and  by  water  to  Vicksburg  and  return.  The  boat  started 
on  its  course  down  the  James  River  early  in  the  evening,  and  the 
"boys"  were  again  happy.  There  was  ample  room  on  the  boat, 
and  the  accommodations  were  good,  for  soldiers.  There  was  no 
crowding  with  infantry,  as  had  been  the  case  on  the  trip  to  and 
from  Vicksburg. 

The  next  morning  Newport  News  was  passed,  the  scene  of 
the  battery's  camp  in  the  spring  of  1863,  and  Hampton  in  the 
distance,  among  the  ruins  of  which  the  battery  had  experienced 
much  misery  and  suffering  from  the  fierce  and  bitter  February 
storm  of  that  year.  At  Fortress  Monroe  the  transport  was  hailed 
by  a  gunboat,  and  the  captain  of  the  former  boat  called  upon  to 
report  where  from,  where  going,  etc.,  which  colloquy  ended  by 
"All  right;  go  ahead,"  and  the  transport  passed  out  into  the  bay. 
The  weather  was  pleasant,  the  water  was  calm,  and  the  men 
enjoyed  the  boat  ride. 

The  Potomac  River  was  entered  late  in  the  afternoon,  and 
darkness  soon  cut  off  the  enjoyment  of  viewing  the  scenery  along 
the  shores.  Daylight  of  the  27th  brought  the  boat  within  a  few 
miles  of  Alexandria.  The  scenery  on  both  banks  was  beautiful. 
There  were  large  fortifications,  upon  the  ramparts  of  which  senti 
nels  were  walking  their  beat.  The  breast  of  the  works  were  lux- 
riantly  green  with  sod,  resembling  the  front  yard  of  some  stately 
mansion  whose  owner  was  a  millionare.  At  all  events  they  did  not 
look  much  like  "Fort  Hell,"  in  front  of  Petersburg. 

At  6  o'clock  the  transport  drew  up  to  the  U.  S.  Mail  Wharf 
No.  5,  at  Alexandria,  where  troops  of  the  Ninth  Corps  were  disem 
barking.  Orders  were  given  to  unload  the  battery,  which  was 
about  completed  when  the  tug  carrying  the  remaining  number  of 
the  battery  horses  came  in.  They  were  soon  taken  out  of  the  boat, 
and  the  battery  was  once  more  on  Virginia's  "  sacred  soil,"  which 
the  men  had  hoped,  on  stepping  aboard  the  boat  at  City  Point, 
they  would  never  again  be  called  to  set  their  feet  upon. 

The  horses  were  then  hitched  to  the  artillery  carriages  and  the 
battery  marched  through  the  city,  out  into  the  country  and  parked 
at  Fairfax  Seminary,  the  scene  of  its  encampment  in  the  spring  of 


252  f)uRELi.*s  BATTERY. 

1862,  when  it  was  held  in  readiness  to  ship  for  the  Peninsula. 
Here  it  was  kept  under  orders  to  move  at  once,  and  many  specu 
lations  as  to  its  next  destination  circulated  in  the  camp,  but  the 
general  belief  was  that  it  would  soon  be  mustered  out  of  service. 

The  camp  was  moved  on  the  i  ith  of  May  to  the  south  side  of 
the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad  in  order  to  give  up  that 
ground  to  the  troops  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  which  were  still 
arriving.  This  change  brought  the  battery  park  nearer  to  both  the 
Potomac  River  and  Alexandria.  The  daily  gun  and  field  drills 
were  continued  just  as  though  active  service  was  expected  of  the 
battery  in  the  future.  The  men  now  disliked  the  drills  and  grum 
bled  not  a  l.ttle  when  called  out  to  them,  reasoning  that  there  was 
no  necessity  for  them.  So  long  as  there  was  an  enemy  to  fight, 
drills  and  other  duties  were,  for  the  most  part,  willingly  performed  ; 
but  now,  that  the  Confederates  had  surrendered,  all  thought  and 
desire  was  of  returning  home.  The  monotony  of  camp  life  grew 
irksome  and  made  many  of  the  men  restive. 


THE  GRAND  REVIEW  AND  MUSTER  OUT.  253 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
THE  GRAND  REVIEW  AND  MUSTER  OUT. 

~P>  Y  May  i3th  all  of  the  troops  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
_L  j  had  arrived  from  Petersburg  and  were  encamped  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bailey's  Cross  Roads,  and  Sherman's  Army  was 
not  far  distant,  approaching  on  its  inarch  from  North  Carolina.  It 
was  then  currently  reported  through  the  camps  that  a  two- days' 
review  of  the  armies  would  take  place  in  Washington,  after  which 
the  muster  out  of  troops  would  begin.  So  the  spirits  of  the  men 
were  again  revived. 

The  grand  review  came  off  on  the  24th  and  25th  days  of  May, 
the  battery  participating  with  its  corps  in  the  first  day's  pageant. 
It  marched  over  to  Washington  on  the  previous  evening  and 
bivouacked  on  East  Capitol  Hill  for  the  night.  In  the  moining  it 
was  ready  to  fall  into  its  place  in  the  reviewing  column,  the  head 
of  which,  composed  of  Sheridan's  troopers,  moved  at  9  o'clock. 
The  Capital  was  filled  with  citizens  from  all  parts  of  the  Northern 
and  Western  States,  who  had  travelled  hundreds  of  miles  to  wit 
ness  the  grand  and  thrilling  spectacle  of  Grant's  victorious  armies 
returning  from  their  conquests  ;  a  scene,  the  like  of  which  had  not 
heretofore,  and  probably  would  never  hereafter,  be  witnessed. 
The  bronzed  and  battle-scarred  veterans  were  received  with  the 
heartiest  enthusiasm  by  the  crowds  of  people  who  walled  Pennsyl 
vania  avenue  on  both  sides  as  the  soldiers  marched  by  with  their 
bullet-riddled  ilags  waving  in  the  mild  spring  breeze  above  them. 

The  troops  passed  by  the  reviewing  stand  with  the  eyes  of  the 
President,  the  General  of  the  Armies  and  an  innumerable  com 
pany  of  dignitaries  resting  upon  them,  many  of  the  commands 
cheering  just  after  the  stand  was  passed.  But  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  troops  was  sobered  by  the  sincere  regret  that  Abraham  Lin 
coln's  kindly  eye  could  not  look  from  the  reviewing  stand  upon 
them.  It  was  the  one  cloud  to  cast  a  shadow  upon  the  glory  of  the  oc 
casion.  The  column  passed  on  through  the  streets  of  Washington 
and  across  the  Long  Bridge  into  Virginia,  the  battery  reaching  its 
camp  late  in  the  afternoon.  The  next  day  Sherman's  Army  was 


254  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

reviewed,  to  witness  which   many  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  were  given  passes  to  go  to  Washington  for  the  day. 

Nearly  every  citizen  who  came  to  the  Capital  to  see  the  review 
had  relatives  or  friends  in  the  army  whom  they  visited  after  that  great 
event  was  over.  The  battery  was  visited  by  a  number  of  civilians 
from  Berks,  Bucks  and  other  points  of  Pennsylvania,  among  them 
being  Henry  T.  Darlington,  editor  of  the  Bucks  County  Intelli 
gencer,  and  Hon.  Richard  Watson,  afterward  judge  of  the  Bucks 
County  courts.  Both  had  served  their  country  in  the  emergency 
service.  They  were  welcome  visitors  to  the  battery  and  were  en 
tertained  in  the  officers'  tents  until  the  following  morning,  when 
they  each  mounted  an  army  horse  and  were  escorted  by  an  officer 
and  orderly  to  Alexandria. 

Orders  were  read  to  the  battery  on  the  3oth,  that  all  the 
artillery  of  the  Ninth  Corps  was  to  be  mustered  out  of  service 
"with  the  least  possible  delay. "  This  was  welcome  news  and 
was  received  by  the  men  with  cheers  and  great  rejoicing. 
The  orders  directed  that  all  United  States  property  should  be 
turned  over  to  the  proper  governmental  authorities  at  Wash 
ington,  and  the  command  was  to  proceed  to  Philadelphia,  there 
to  remain  until  the  muster  out  could  be  effected  and  the  men 
paid.  It  was  thought  in  camp  that  the  surrender  of  Kirby 
Smith,  which  had  just  taken  place,  had  given  wing  to  this  order  ; 
that  if  his,  or  any  other  considerable  force  of  Confederates  had 
held  out  longer,  the  issue  of  this  order  would  have  been  delayed. 
Kirby  Smith's  was  the  last  of  the  Confederate  armies  to  lay  down 
arms. 

On  June  2nd,  the  battery  marched  over  to  Washington  and 
turned  into  the  arsenal  the  guns,  caissons,  ammunition,  etc.,  and 
the  horses  into  the  Government  corral.  The  day  following  the 
quartermaster's  stores  were  turned  over  to  the  keeping  of  "  Uncle 
Sam,"  and  on  Sunday  evening,  June  4th,  the  command  was 
marched  to  Alexandria,  expecting  to  get  transportation  by  steam 
boat  to  Washington.  But  it  was  too  late  in  the  evening  to  receive 
it,  so  the  company  marched  the  eight  miles  distance  to  Washington 
and  bivouacked  at  midnight  on  the  side  walks  near  the  Baltimore 
Railroad  depot.  The  men  were  very  much  fatigued,  but  most  of 
them  slept  as  soundly  on  the  hard  sidewalk  as  they  would  on  a 
good  bed. 

Regiment   after   regiment  was  loaded  on  the  trains  and  sent 
away  happy  to  their  homes  during  the   morning,  but   the  battery 


THE  GRAND  REVIEW  AND  MUSTER  OUT.  255 

seemed  to  be  neglected.  At  last  the  company  was  ordered  to 
climb  into  freight  cars.  The  train  left  at  noon  and  made  a  long 
stop  at  Baltimore.  This  was  a  vexatious  delay,  for  no  locomotive 
had  speed  enough  to  take  the  men  to  their  homes  too  soon.  The 
train  left  at  7  o'clock  in  the  evening  and  arrived  at  the  Broad  and 
Prime  streets  depot,  Philadelphia,  at  1.30  in  the  morning  of  the 
6th.  The  company  was  marched  down  to  the  Union  Volunteer 
Refreshment  Saloon,  where  the  men  received  a  substantial  break 
fast,  which  did  them  much  good  and  was  highly  appreciated,  as 
they  had  had  but  little  to  eat  since  the  breakfast  of  the  previous  day. 
After  this  meal  most  of  them  lay  down  to  sleep  until  daylight. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  company  was  marched  up  town  to 
Camp  Cadwallader,  where  it  had  an  opportunity  to  view  the  filthy 
barracks  of  that  camp.  Captain  Rhoads  learned  that  his  company 
could  not  be  mustered  out  of  service  there,  but  that  he  must  go  to 
Camp  Discharge,  at  Spring  Mill  Barracks,  distant  sixteen  miles  up 
the  Schuylkill  River.  So  he  marched  his  command  back  to  the 
Broad  and  Callowhill  streets  depot  of  the  Reading  Railroad,  where 
a  train  was  boarded  which  landed  it  at  Spring  Mill  early  in  the 
evening. 

Here  the  company  remained  until  the  muster-out  papers  were 
finished,  an  extra  force  of  clerks  having  been  detailed  to  hurry  the 
completion  of  the  rolls.  The  barracks  were  clean  and  commodi 
ous.  The  location  was  very  beautiful,  elevated  upon  one  of  the  high 
hills  overlooking  the  Schuylkill  River  and  the  country  beyond. 
But  the  scenery  had  no  charm  for  soldiers  who  were  anxious  to 
reach  home  and  loved  ones.  Passes  were  granted  to  some  to 
spend  a  day  or  two  in  Philadelphia,  Reading  and  other  points,  and 
a  number  of  others  went  home  without  permission. 

On  the  morning  of  June  i3th  three  special  cars  were  coupled 
to  an  early  passenger  train  at  Spring  Mill  Station,  containing  as 
happy  a  company  of  men  as  ever  drew  the  breath  of  life.  They 
were  on  their  way  to  Philadelphia  to  obtain  a  final  settlement  with 
the  muster-out  officer  and  paymaster,  which  would  permit  them  to 
enjoy  "life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,"  as  citizens  of 
the  United  States. 

After  arriving  at  the  depot  a  long  march  was  made  to  South 
Third  street.  Here  a  weary  halt  was  endured  on  the  sidewalk 
which  was  prolonged  to  a  late  hour  in  the  afternoon.  Then  an 
other  march  was  made  to  Girard  street,  where  the  men  received 
their  discharge  papers  and  pay.  It  was  6  o'clock  before  the  pay- 


256  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

master  had  settled  with  the  last  man  on  the  roll — too  late  for 
many  of  them  to  return  home  that  day.  After  a  general  inter 
change  of  handshaking  and  farewell  the  men  scattered  off  in  squads, 
and  the  battery  as  a  military  organization  under  the  United  States 
(Government  had  ceased  to  exist. 

There  was  no  formal  reception  given  to  the  returning  battery- 
men  either  by  the  citizens  of  Reading  or  Doylestown,  but  they 
were,  nevertheless,  heartily  received  by  friends  and  fellow  citizens 
on  the  streets  and  at  their  homes,  showing  a  due  appreciation  of 
their  services  for  their  country. 


ITINERARY  OF  DURELL'S  BATTERY.  257 


ITINERARY  OF  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 

The  following  are  the  points  which  were  reached  by  the  bat 
tery,  by  marches,  transports  and  railway  : 

From  Doylestown  via  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  to  Washing 
ton  ;  to  Munson's  Hill,  Va.  ;  to  Centreville  and  return  to  Fairfax 
Seminary  ;  to  Fredericksburg  via  Centreville,  Manassas  and  Cat- 
lett ;  to  Thoroughfare  (Jap  and  return  via  Haymarket  and  Warren- 
ton  •  to  Culpepper  via  Rappahannock  Station  ;  to  Washington  via 
Kelly's  Ford,  Rappahannock  Station,  Fayetteville,  Warrenton 
Junction,  Bristoe,  Manassas,  Bull  Run,  Centreville  and  Chantilly; 
through  Maryland  to  South  Mountain,  Antietam  and  Pleasant 
Valley  ;  to  Fredericksburg  via  Berlin,  Amissville,  White  Sulphur 
Springs  and  Warrenton  ;  to  Newport  News  via  Aquia  Creek  and 
transport  to  Hampton,  Va.  ;  to  Paris,  Ky.  ,  via  Baltimore,  Harris- 
burg,  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati  and  Cynthiana  ;  to  Mount  Sterling, 
Richmond,  Boonesboro,  Paint  Lick,  Dick  River,  Stanford,  Hick- 
man's  Br  dge,  Nicholasville  and  Lexington  ;  by  rail  to  Louisville 
via  Frankfort  ;  by  transport  to  Vicksburg,  Miss.  ;  to  Jackson  and 
return  ;  by  transport  to  Covington,  Ky. ;  to  Johnsons'  Island,  Lake 
Erie,  and  return  ;  by  rail  to  Reading  and  Doylestown  and  return 
to  Annapolis,  Md.  ;  to  Washington  ;  to  Petersburg  via  Manassas, 
the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor  and  Charles  City 
Court  House  ;  by  various  flank  movements  in  extending  the 
Petersburg  investing  lines  to  Wilson  Station  ;  to  Alexandria  via 
Petersburg,  City  Point  and  Fortress  Monroe  ;  to  Spring  Mill  Bar 
racks  via  Washington,  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia. 

By  marches,  about   1800  miles  ;  by   water,    3000   miles  ;    by 
railway,  2900  miles — total  7700  miles. 


'58 


H 

r-1 


w  ^ 

Q  i 
z  - 

S    o 


DURELL' s  BATTERY. 


o 

<u  o. 


S     5 


S  > 

S  I 

a>  r 

I  B 


S  -a 


s  s- 
S  *% 


»M  P 

;^s 


r 


5 

5  . 


.3     3; 


«     +1+Z 

&  -M  O>  O> 

>£» 

•-**" 

sJS 

s«§s 

s  n  s  s 
^JHl 

III 

£312 

«.§s|i! 


,5 j.,  >>  ca  o  co  S 2 ti  S  £j ,.  •  '>  ^  so"  aw  oj^Sti'fe 
S3  ?5  |5|  ~  £5S  s  IS  |  -SIS  gl  333*1 
S-  S3  *»£•;  S^..^5  °  .  ~  5®o  P-CO-  -'SSs5 


ii 


$2 


«  «.-  ^-   ^     sli8-55 

2  ^"S  5213,  «w  >o£^^« 
B  5S  £^  |2  s??«SSS 
:  "-  s§£  >-  «^l|l? 

s«a§aa 


.  .s§ 


:.sc 


— 

c 

~  .- 
r  _; 

i?- 


"  *a-i-»S.:l  ~-> 

^  sc^  x  ^  r;  / 


lg*§  |||  jal§§»vlill 

^  a)    _rt  "^,  3<B«S««'^«lH»iS 

_  OJGO    .  is'b;--«~.     Ji^^^  c^^3^          S^^SS^^S^ 

'C  0)  ^"  SS  *- •  O,'-'  -4->        •'       -^  jJ  *J  •"  jj  i-"^—       5^-u-ij- 

O--SW*  .5  Q  s- ei     o  fl  ^  o.  o-ft<S  >i'*j§1=!'^o.t-'&t> 

"S  "^  2     •  -r"3  "S  ^  ^  «       ^  '^  CO  02  CO  CC  (^  r?  O  —  *»  S  e3  32  <  ^  ^ 

kre>-^M^^-CO         ^^^  ^rv  Ooir^.. 


2  c 


2  ° 


[rf85l|s||ls^sa^5ss 

;  ^  r—     i— i      •-j'*-'"^'—  «;—  «-^j'ar-''Ct3 

:a)^tT^'Ss"S'cU~'SS5S:251-S3-2^ 


^  3  •  •  •  •  .C  ^2  O  O  O  O 
-^  +*•"•" 


. 
••>  60  6C«  ** 


0^00        COO 


^          Q4O2M-          ^^On          H          £QC 


0,0,     0,00, 


o,     o,     0,0,0,0,     o.a  — 
<u      o>      a>o)a>a;      o)a>a) 

CC        C/J        CC  O2  CO  CC        'J-'J.'J1 


JPIJ—,.— 

5!  C^l  <N  C^  C-J  ,^-7^  i_J- 
'' 


2 

Is 

3-  - 

- 

^3   - 

FH 

S=  ^ 

2  ^  - 

; 

=  r  =  s   |:  r  = 

° 

"ro 

S 

S 

c^ 

3 

'     ' 

• 

M~ 

:  :  :  j.  :  :  :  ; 

K 

11 

"3 

-. 
g 

•  G>    ~ 

m 

.    '3 
-   & 

S  -  •  • 

cT^  ' 

||: 

BB" 

5ga|-:|  lfl- 

George  \V.  Du 
Samuel  H.  Rli 

Lemuel  Gries 
Howard  Mcll 
Henry  Sailor, 

^ 
5 
0) 

i' 
— 
•< 

George  W.  Sil 
Christopher  I 
Charles  A.  Cu 

James  L.  Mas 
William  S.  M< 

l-Jb 
0||| 

^^^a 

III 

^£l 
EC-§ 

!•§§ 

O,l-5>-5 

9> 

ft 

O 

a 
_r 
O 
•^ 

5  ®  m  2)'*'  ^  C  tn 

£sll»si 

•C3J^OO_2«J 

H»-»i-»vD'"»^''Jw 

ROSTER  OF  DURELL'S  BATTERY.  259 


rr  r2S2    :  g  S  C  C  ^-S  3  g  gS  S  g  g 


-aaco.    a. 


«-      --bo-:-       "-rsris-sss-ss:: 

~$        «        £ 


°   "-I  Will 


260 


DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


- 

5 


0 
o 

l^"      TJ 


X        ^-  T™<  CD 

"""  "^  be  i£  ic  be  fcj;t2  —  33  ^  ^ 

S«S||SS'S^o.  •-> 

^lll|l||g"|  i|g| 


5occccccocccc--cco'tr"r'^'^rrT-'rr^l:;'SrS?^ 


W 
04 
D 
P 

fe 

O 

c^ 
w 

^H 

C/3 

O 


a  si  > 

H  W  a: 

«!  H  a 

Q  .K  ^- 


33--3>3S£S«>5«  SSs-SS'yjPSP.-Sw  -^SsasS 


ROSTER  OF  DURELL'S  BATTERY.  261 


eoeo  u £  «  a >  ~  eeeow  Cjjj  *?«»  5 


._ ._  .i  ._  c;  .i .~  .s  .i  0  ~  ~  £  ti  ~  "  — .—  .22 .5  .i  S  3  —  3  2  £  .S  .2.  £  o  ^  —  3  2  s  £  2  2  22  2  ai 

~^££n^-^-p:p:~£-7:^^^^.-SS  ^^a^~^2Qc^^^^p:^c,SSQQQ 


262 


DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


P 
x; 


illllllll 


rj^-tj^         ^i>0^1>l);D 

StS^ffi    .^^^-^-e^- 


.£>• 

d  ^ 

SSfc 

~?'2 

•S^sc 


g^tt 

^"2  5 


2- 

SS^| 
®  «  >>? 


a;  01 

s§ 


K^O-1 

rtl    rH    X       .    ^ 


-« 

!  S  o  o  o  o  3  S-g-g-g-fS  ooS53  3S^' 
•  -- '1  >~ •r-rrr 


al^ 


-C  2 

•c^r  =-o 
o>  o>  • 


SSI-ail 


g  5  "3  H'  d"  tr_T;  "r  »  S"*  &  ^^ 


x  .o  ? 
-^  =  ^ 


S^g 
II^S 


11 

O)   (W 


P 

P 

fn 

C 

P4 
W 

& 

o 


ROSTER  OF  DURELL'S  BATTERY.  263 


Ss>^"^2^S^"^^S^'J-^ 


264 


DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


«'  S  "o  a  '£  s  5  'S  2  .E  o  5  ^  s  'S  o  j  ^  5  •-  '5  'S  '5  "o  £.,§  --^'^'^-•-"-So'S 

^  CU  ^  S.  S-  -  «  C-O*^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^XXXXXXXXX^X-XX 


ROSTER  OF  DURELL'S  BATTERY. 


265 


aH-as  i  H.H.a-'b  £fi  cLa,a.2,a,d  "S.ijH.3 

.   s  «,  --v  s  5?5r«  •  o.«8  srs  -u  m  D  i)  rr=:  r^? 


g  5s  Isl  a  a  a  S  s*  -a  ^  JJs33i.s  >  ^-s5  S8 1  s  S  | 


^ 

fc>No ' " 

'J& 


RETURN        CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

^"         Main  Library  •  198  Main  Stacks 


LOAN  PERIOD  1 
HOME  USE 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS. 

Renewls  and  Recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  the  due  date. 

Books  may  be  Renewed  by  calling  642-3405. 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


WR 1  i  1997 


FORM  NO.  DD6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
BERKELEY  CA  94720-6000 


U.  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 

Hill  Illl  II 111  Hill  III II  HIM  Hill  Hill  HIM  III II  Mil  Hit 


Vrsr  -M-a&&  ^ir\^  -r*- 

•^roMw^r« 


g&YJTJW 

^G=f& 


:>*M 

uJ^j^ 

J&J]  <o  =lgi: 

^^  \W?Ji*c^> 

j^JMo^'JA^j 

'•!'  v. 


tf''?VJ&r>>*(CV 

^WfSRflf^OT/O/ 


